Packaged wastewater treatment plant provider WPL installed a below-ground system in Klimkovice, in the country’s Moravian-Silesian region, as part of a municipality-led project to construct a first-time sewerage network to serve 340 of the town’s residents.
Some 110 properties will connect to the new system, replacing ageing septic tanks that had been seeping into streams which flowed into the popular fishing ponds, impacting the quality of the waters, which have protections under the EU’s Water Framework Directive. The project was welcomed by the local community and its successful completion marked with an opening ceremony.

High groundwater levels challenged the project team

The project team had to overcome significant challenges caused by high groundwater levels, which hindered installation of the treatment tanks. To manage this, engineers built a temporary well so that water could be continually pumped out and levels kept down throughout construction.
The installed treatment plant – WPL’s Hybrid-SAF biological system – comprises units designed to control chemical oxygen demand (COD), biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) suspended solids, and ammonia. A remote monitoring system was also installed. The high environmental standards required included 30mg/l BOD, 110mg/l COD, 40mg/l suspended solids and 20mg/l ammonia.
To protect the below-ground units from excess groundwater the excavation was fully backfilled with water-resistant concrete. A small biological pond was also constructed by a municipality-sourced supplier to provide tertiary treatment and extra capacity was built into the system to cater for population growth.
The scheme was financed by the EU Cohesion Fund, which aims to promote sustainable development, and the Ministry of the Environment of the Czech Republic.
The site will be managed by the municipality with WPL providing supervision and support.