Cupitt's Estate Case Study

Background

Situated on the NSW South coast, Cupitt’s Estate houses a boutique winery, brewery and fromagerie, as well as a restaurant, wedding venue and cottage accommodation; all requiring a suitable wastewater and sewage treatment solution.

The estate had outgrown its existing treatment systems and was looking for a more effective wastewater treatment solution. Given the variety of processes on site, the wastewater from Cupitt’s Estate had three distinct streams.

Firstly, production wastewater from its food and beverage processes, including its cheese-making facility, winery and brewery, required a suitable solution to remove the suspended solids (SS), fats, oils and grease (FOG),biochemical oxygen demand (BOD),chemical oxygen demand (COD) and nutrients from the wastewater.  The sewage wastewater coming from the kitchen and toilet facilities at its restaurant and conference centre also required treatment. The final stream was sewage wastewater from the onsite cottage accommodation.

The team at Cupitt’s Estate was recommended to speak with Aerofloat given the company’s experience in providing innovative solutions for wastewater and sewage treatment. Aerofloat’s proprietary technology for sewage treatment offered a mechanically simple solution that provides a high effluent quality and maintenance-friendly operations.

The Aerofloat Solution

The strict wastewater regulations demanded by the local council meant that Cupitt’s Estate required a system that would treat its wastewater and sewage to a high standard.

Aerofloat’s solution was designed to treat up to 35m³ each day of wastewater, ensuring the treated effluent was compliant with local council’s strict standards for disposal by irrigation.

Two Sequence Batch Reactors (AeroSBRs) with Aerofloat’s patented aeration mechanism were integral to the design, offering a robust and reliable treatment option with proven results in the industry. Compared to other SBRs on the market, the maintenance-friendly benefits of Aerofloat’s patented aeration system were welcomed by the team at Cupitt’s Estate.

In addition to the AeroSBRs, Aerofloat installed an upfront sceen, and balance, effluent and sludge tanks. Chemical dosing was installed for Phosphorus removal and liquid chlorine dosing was installed to disinfect the high quality treated effluent from the SBRs.

Additional storage on site for the treated effluent was provided to allow treated effluent to be stored during wet weather and irrigated when the rain stops.

The system also had remote monitoring capabilities and enhanced automation to limit maintenance requirements. Aerofloat’s engineers could also log on to the system and view the plant remotely should Cupitt’s Estate operators require any assistance with optimisation and diagnostic work.

The Results

Despite the challenges presented by the COVID-19 global pandemic at the time, Aerofloat worked with Cupitt’s Estate to ensure the system was installed in the agreed timeframe and have continued to work with the team to provide support with chemical optimisation and servicing as required.

“Aerofloat have been terrific to work with, offering advice and being really flexible with the installation given the restrictions due to the COVID-19 crisis,” said Tom Cupitt, General Manager.

“We have enlisted Aerofloat’s ongoing support to service and maintain the system over the coming twelve months, helping us to ensure we meet our strict council regulations. It’s great also having access to the engineers via the remote monitoring system if we need further support.”