Sustainable water solutions for mining – how RFP underground tanks supported the installation of a residential treatment plant by Arris

About Arris

Arris was formed in 2000 with a commitment to taking agriculture research from the R&D stage through to creating real world impacts on the ground. Over time, Arris grew into providing technical advice based upon scientific and innovative communication tools for water treatment technologies and projects. They work closely with councils, mining, regulators, water authorities, defence and remote communities to provide sustainable water treatment solutions. 

Using FRP Underground Tanks for water reuse programs

Arris was commissioned to design and build a passive water treatment and reuse plant for alarge residential mining facility that was to house over 1000 people. The water treatment plant would have approximately 760,000 litres of water a day passing through needing treatment. The water had to be treated to a quality sustainable for medium risk reuse under the Western Australian guidelines.  

Arris needed to order the biggest size Fibreglass Reinforced Plastic (FRP) tanks they could possibly get delivered to the location. They decided to partner with CSG Composites on this project, due to their industry leading reputation in designing and manufacturing underground FRP tanks for managing water infrastructure. 

The CSG Composite underground tanks are reinforced with FRP, meaning they are strong and stable enough to hold up under constant use and harvest water that is suitable for reuse. 

“CSG Composites have a lot of experience and knowledge about designing and manufacturing large RFP tanks for the mining industry. As this was our first major project with a mining company, CSG Composites were able to help us out with the engineering specifications that are required by this industry”, said Jim Kelly, Managing Director of Arris. 

All CSG Composite’s tanks are custom designed to suit the unique specifications of each customer. CSG Composites worked with Arris to design and manufacture 8 underground tanks for Arris which formed the primary treatment section. Each of these tanks had a capacity of 95,000L with a thick internal liner. These then flowed into another 95,000L CSG Composites tank into a pump station for emergency storage.  

The location of the mining facility was in regional WA, so the tanks were facing a long journey to reach the location, due to the distance, and rough conditions of the roads.  As the CSG Composite tanks are made from FRP structural materials, they are lightweight yet strong, making them easy to handle and cheaper to transport. Numerous other suppliers involved in this project had their equipment arrive, necessitating multiple attempts to successfully deliver their equipment. The CSG Composites tanks are built to last, and arrived intact, with minimal repairs needed to be made upon arrival.  

Driving efficiency – final outcomes of RFP tank solutions

CSG Composites underground tanks are purpose built for managing the complexities of water treatment. The project had a very tight timeframe with some short deadlines. CSG Composites were able to deliver all 9 tanks on time, with a high level of quality to meet the strict industry standards and requirement. 

“CSG Composites were very good to us as they were able to meet the short lead time and have the tanks ready to go. If we didn’t have the tanks ready by a particular date, we would’ve incurred some time penalties for late delivery”, said Mr Kelly. 

The installation of CSG Composites FRP tanks in the mining facilities rainwater project has demonstrated the great durability and design of their solutions. The mining facility has been able to get a great result, with the passive water treatment project producing a high-quality water supply suitable for treatment and reuse.