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Water and environment articles...
Training in the water industry – a short history
by Bert Gray, Principal Training Consultant, Opus Environmental Training Centre
Opus Environmental Training Centre (ETC) delivered training to approximately 1200 students in 2006, carrying on a legacy of training in this industry that began many years ago.
On-site Wastewater Management in New Zealand Wastewater Servicing Practice
By Ian Gunn, academic and professional engineer.
On-site wastewater servicing has traditionally been associated with septic tank and soakage trench systems as a temporary measure in urban fringe, rural residential or holiday area development. The expectation is that on-site wastewater systems will have a short life, will eventually clog up and fail, and thus inevitably require connection to a sewerage system.
Under Pressure
By Dr Jonathan Morris
Excessive pressure can promote premature system failure so using the right pipes for the job is an important part of design and installation.
Sampling – “It affects everyone”
By Ian Couling
When you buy groceries, go out for tea, gamble at the races, buy fuel or milk – you are relying on correct and representative sampling to make sure the product is what it says it is. Sampling ensures correct volumes and weights, sufficient profit and reduced loss for a manufacturer, fair performance from a thoroughbred athlete, four legged or two.
Learning at the coalface
By Kirsten Collins
Out of my cellphone’s range and more than 50 kms from some of the end-users of the water it produces, the Wainuiomata Water Treatment plant is a key site visit for students of the Environmental Training Centre’s National Certificate in Water Treatment course, offered through the NZWETA (NZ Water and Environment Training Academy) joint venture.
Where are we going? - Aligning training with changes to water businesses
By Rob Blakemore, Business Manager, Opus Environmental Training Centre
NZWETA ( New Zealand Water and Environment Training Academy ) was established five years ago. Its objectives are appropriately encapsulated by the phrase that appears on its letterhead and reads: “Training Today for Tomorrow’s Needs”. The obvious ongoing question is “Are We?”
Measures of Compaction
Compaction is a topic taught on the Concrete Pipe Installer course delivered by NZWETA with the support of concrete pipe manufacturers Hynds, Humes, and the Concrete Pipe Association of Australasia.
Dry Density Ratio
The most commonly understood measure of compaction in the construction industry is the ‘Dry Density Ratio’. This is also known as ‘Relative Density’ ‘Compaction Ratio’ or simply ‘compaction’.
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Stormwater management concepts
By Earl Shaver and Sue Ira, who deliver the NZWETA course Advanced Stormwater Design and Management.
This discussion presents a guide to the stormwater management concepts of site design, contamination control and treatment; common structural stormwater management practices and a summary of treatment mechanisms that they utilise.
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Swimming Pools – Marvellous Places
Article written by Sarah Cresswell. Sarah is a trainer for Pool Water Treatment courses for Opus Environmental Training Centre.
Swimming Pools are such marvellous places, expanses of water where kids splash and swim - a real asset to a school and community. However, these facilities require proper maintenance and skilled operation so the water remains sparkly blue, and up to standard – namely “NZS 5826:2000 Pool Water Quality”. Keeping the pool in an acceptable state, with good water quality and preventing it from becoming overloaded takes a mixture of training and experience.
Jointing PE pipes
By Jonathan Morris is a Senior Asset Management Consultant with Opus International Consultants Limited.
Modern PE pipes are now pretty reliable, so most in-service failures that aren’t caused by stray digger buckets are due to problems with the joints. This means that joint quality is an important factor in pipeline durability, especially for fusion joints.
Trenchless pipe installation
By Chris Breen and Eric Thorn of Opus International Consultants, and the National Certificate of Water Reticulation qualification.
In recent years there have been large advances in trenchless technology for installing new pipelines and more can be expected in the next few years. In addition to tunnelling, there are four other methods of trenchless technology used for new pipelines in New Zealand.
Purpose and Nature of Wastewater Collection and Treatment Systems
By Bert Gray, Principal Training Consultant, Opus Environmental Training Centre.
In essence the purpose of a wastewater collection/treatment system is to protect our environment and public health by ensuring that the wastewater is collected and treated to a specified level prior to discharge back to the environment.
Condition Assessment - Frequently Asked Questions
By Jonathan Morris is a Senior Asset Management Consultant with Opus International Consultants Limited.
What is condition assessment?
Many people talk about Condition Assessment, but there is little agreement on what it actually means. This article is intended to answer some common questions and give you some ideas of how to get better information about your system.
New Unit Standards for Polyethylene Pipelines Training
By Jonathan Mackey, Manager NZWETA. NZWETA is a joint venture between the New Zealand Water & Wastes Association and Opus International Consultants Ltd. Jonathan is also the Work Group Manager training at Opus Environmental Training Centre.
Polyethylene, also known as PE, was discovered in the 1930s and was first made commercially in the late 1940s. PE water supply pipes have now been used for more than 50 years.
PE pipes were introduced in New Zealand in the 1970s but were of older grade low density (LDPE) pipes which offered either strength or toughness but not both, earning them a poor performance reputation.
PE Welding
By Dr Jonathan Morris is a Senior Asset Management Consultant with Opus International Consultants Limited. Jonathan has a background in pipeline materials installation and assessment, and has a doctorate in non-destructive testing.
Temperature
If you want to melt something, you have to heat it up without overcooking it. For welding, that means that the welding machine and controller must work properly. If the temperature is too cold, the material will not melt properly and the ends will not stick together properly. If it is too hot, the melted material might degrade, or it will be squeezed out of the joint.
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