Successful nozzle refurbishment for 30-year-old water treatment facility

When Western Australia’s Water Corporation needed to refurbish a three-decade-old water treatment facility, getting an exact match to the existing nozzles was the preferred option.

A major challenge faced by those responsible for maintaining older water treatment facilities is sourcing parts that fit perfectly and will also perform to required standards. This was the case for the Water Corporation when it needed to replace filter nozzles in the major refurbishment project in 2011.

“The scheme manager had tried using slightly different replacement nozzles from another supplier, because that was all that was now available. However, his preference was to use like-for-like to be certain to not change filtration characteristics,” said Tecpro Australia’s Managing Director, Graeme Cooper. “It’s understandable that after having nozzles that had worked perfectly for 30 years, they would ideally be replaced with the same type.”

The problem was that the old design was no longer manufactured. “After speaking with us, we were able to arrange to have filter nozzles manufactured to precisely match those they were replacing to ensure they would perform exactly as the existing nozzles had done,” said Cooper.

As a specialist in filter nozzles, Tecpro also recommended incorporating several small improvements in the replacement filter nozzles to increase their strength and durability.

“While the nozzles we had manufactured for WA Water Corporation were an exact replica of the nozzles being replaced, we made some suggestions to strengthen them which will make them better in service,” said Cooper.

“Our client was delighted we could come up with exactly what was needed and had also found ways to improve upon it.”