Services · Design & Consulting
Process design, troubleshooting, and delivery support for water, wastewater, and reuse systems.
We help owners and operators turn treatment challenges into vendor-ready scope, whether that means stabilising performance, defining an upgrade, or reviewing proposals already on the table. Our work combines process design capability, practical troubleshooting, and particular depth in MBBR-based systems.
From feasibility through commissioning, we define scope vendors can price, build, and prove, without scope creep or performance issues. We translate constraints and targets into review criteria, then support procurement and delivery.
For live sites, that can mean rapid root-cause diagnosis across process, hydraulics, chemicals, and controls, followed by corrective actions with realistic CAPEX/OPEX trade-offs and clear next-step outputs.
Start with the technical support you need
This section is for teams that already know they need process design, troubleshooting, plant retrofit checks, or delivery support. Use it to narrow the first piece of work and see the technical areas most often involved.
Focus areas
Choose the focus area that matches your objective.
The areas below show where deeper technical support may be needed and what each one is set up to clarify before procurement or delivery moves ahead.
Equipment replacement or operations optimisation
A unit is underperforming or needs upgrading, and scope, coordination points, and the check plan are not yet tight enough for comparable bids.
Right-size equipment → avoid over-spec → vendor-ready duty sheets
Typical scope elements
- Baseline + variability limit
- Connections & coordination points (bypass, utilities, I/O)
- Delivery-ready scope + review record
Chemical treatment study
Performance is drifting or costs are rising, and current dosing is reactive, inconsistent, or hard to hand over to operators.
Reduce chemical spend → improve settling/filtration → quantify savings
Typical deliverables
- Targets + triggers + sampling cadence
- Jar-test plan + dose curve (variability)
- OPEX guardrails + compliance/reuse protection
Site-scale pilot to demonstrate the process
Bench or lab results look promising, but what is missing is confirmation at site scale, within site variability, operator handling, and uptime constraints.
Site-scale confirmation → operating limit → project basis for procurement
Typical deliverables
- Minimum testing + variability limit (operating range)
- Performance baseline reflecting how the plant operates
- Project basis pack structure for review and handover
Analysis of system-based options
Several process routes look possible, but the bottlenecks, trade-offs, monitoring burden, and review criteria are not yet aligned.
Compare system routes → identify bottlenecks → define review criteria
Typical deliverables
- Client / regulator review criteria + monitoring minimums
- Reuse routing logic + protection measures
- Commissioning record plan (sampling ranges, KPIs, pass/fail)
Evaluate the technology choices
Different suppliers are pointing to different technologies. The shortlist needs to reflect feed site conditions, site constraints, operability, and check expectations.
Shortlist technologies → scorecard against constraints → sound selection
Typical deliverables
- Like-for-like evaluation rules + scorecard
- Operability risk flags (CIP, spares, uptime) + constraints
- Selection logic + next deliverable (ToR or design pack)
Controls, automation, and monitoring that hold outcomes
Automation, alarms, and dashboards need to support the way the plant is actually run, with clear KPIs, stable control logic, and no unnecessary overbuild.
Stable control logic → alarms operators trust → no expensive overbuild
Typical deliverables
- Controls minimums (I/O, interlocks, trends) + instrumentation
- Review record plan (tests + information pack) for commissioning
- Integration notes (connections, utilities, coordination points, shutdown ranges)
Procurement kept aligned to technical outcomes
Procurement needs to stay tied to performance, operability, and review project basis, not drift into loosely comparable offers.
Technical, economic, and operational requirements stay in scope through award
Typical deliverables
- ToR / RFP pack + review criteria (priceable scope)
- Bid normalisation + clarification control
- Contract-ready checks + checks and documentation list
Residual waste streams, design in or out?
Residuals, coordination points, and post-installation checks need to be designed into delivery early, not discovered late during commissioning or handover.
Residuals mapped and addressed early, not discovered at the end of a project
Typical deliverables
- Commissioning / stabilisation check plan + sampling ranges
- Remote monitoring + early optimisation checks
- Connection coordination (connections, bypasses, utilities, controls)
Service scope
Common specialist scopes and when they are used
Most engagements start with one of two needs: isolate what is limiting performance, or define the technical basis for upgrade, procurement, and delivery.
1. Clarify the objective
- ✓Compliance stability, reuse target, or performance uplift
- ✓Review limits and check requirements
- ✓Constraints: space, hydraulics, operations, coordination points
2. Define the working scope
- ✓Action plan, stabilise now
- ✓Option study + business case, decide next
- ✓Clear scope for upgrade / retrofit / build
Typical engagement formats
These scopes can stand alone or be expanded as the project develops.
Troubleshooting & compliance stabilisation
Outlet limits spiking or performance drifting, root cause and rapid, operator-practical corrective actions.
Fast stabilisation
Troubleshooting & compliance stabilisation
Outlet limits spiking or performance drifting, root cause and rapid, operator-practical corrective actions.
- ✓Outlier management and operating limit definition
- ✓Chemical treatment stabilisation (dosing logic, mixing/contact, control checks)
- ✓Action plan verifiable through monitoring and commissioning-style project basis
Improvement planning & retrofit sequencing
Performance uplift that keeps assets working, no "rip and replace" unless the project basis demands it.
Phased upgrades
Improvement planning & retrofit sequencing
Performance uplift that keeps assets working, no "rip and replace" unless the project basis demands it.
- ✓Nutrient removal and biological performance upgrades
- ✓Odour / septicity interventions with measurable targets
- ✓Integration notes: hydraulics, connections, control points, review limits
Reuse, discharge & end-point quality upgrades
Raising water quality for reuse review or tougher discharge, especially where recalcitrant pollutants need an endpoint.
Quality uplift
Reuse, discharge & end-point quality upgrades
Raising water quality for reuse review or tougher discharge, especially where recalcitrant pollutants need an endpoint.
- ✓Reuse QA/QC limits, review ranges, and operating limits
- ✓End-point solutions for recalcitrant pollutants and polishing requirements
- ✓Verification approach: sampling plans, KPIs, and performance check criteria
Technical studies & sourcing advisory
Equipment change, spares strategy, or chemical shift, options compared and translated into procurement-ready scope.
Option studies
Technical studies & sourcing advisory
Equipment change, spares strategy, or chemical shift, options compared and translated into procurement-ready scope.
- ✓Option studies comparing CAPEX/OPEX, operability, footprint, and risk
- ✓Terms of Reference, evaluation criteria, and clarification support
- ✓Support for chemical changeovers, spares planning, performance-based specs
Plant retrofit health checks & new-build enablement
Fast clarity on what's limiting performance, and what to build or buy next, with delivery-ready coordination points.
Clarity + roadmap
Plant retrofit health checks & new-build enablement
Fast clarity on what's limiting performance, and what to build or buy next, with delivery-ready coordination points.
- ✓Retrofit health checks: constraints, connections, phased upgrade roadmap
- ✓New builds & expansions: technology selection with "why it works here" logic
- ✓Scope, coordination points, commissioning record, and handover requirements
Common technical focus areas
Where it fits
Where this fits in the project timeline
We work with client teams to define requirements, build the business case, and structure procurement so decisions stay well-founded and delivery stays aligned to intent.
Analysis
Requirements & constraint analysis
Water quality, reuse intent, coordination points, and operating limits turned into measurable criteria.
Business case
Cost base & benefit case
Lifecycle CAPEX/OPEX logic, avoided-risk value, and reuse economics that justify the pathway.
Commercial route
Strategy positioning & business model
Procurement route, ownership model, and risk allocation aligned to how the system will be funded and run.
Procurement basis
Scope of works & project cost early direction
Scope boundaries, coordination points, and a credible cost estimate for ToR/procurement packs.
Topic areas
What we work on
Same project basis logic and engagement structure across all topics.
How we work
How we structure work
Stages clients typically enter through, each ends in delivery-ready inputs and clear next actions.
Wider project structure
FlowPlan links this specialist support to the wider project structure.
This section focuses on process design, troubleshooting, plant retrofit checks, and delivery support. FlowPlan carries that work into the wider project structure, from diagnosis and scope definition through to project variants and commissioning records.
Typical engagement formats
How this support is commonly structured
The work can be scoped lightly or in more depth, depending on how much is already known and how quickly the project needs to move.
Format 1
Rapid troubleshooting check
Fast reset on baseline, constraints, and risks, so decisions aren't made on assumptions.
- Minimum testing & limit
- Options shortlist
- Key next actions
Format 2
Delivery-ready definition
Intent turned into measurable requirements and a check plan a supplier can price against.
- Review ranges
- Controls scope outline
- RFP / ToR starter pack
Format 3
Procure + deliver support
Comparable evaluation plus delivery structures that keep KPIs and project basis visible through handover.
- Bid comparability templates
- Connection & change control
- Commissioning record plan
Typical deliverables
What this support usually produces
These packs are meant to move a live project forward. The output changes with the stage, but the aim stays the same: clarify the basis, define the target clearly, and keep vendor decisions tied to measurable review.
- Baseline performance snapshot, constraints map, and next-action shortlist.
- Requirements and review document with scope boundaries, coordination points, and verification logic.
- RFP / ToR starter material, vendor clarification framework, and bid comparison structure.
- Commissioning record plan, KPI project basis trail, and integration notes for handover.
Start with the first piece of work that removes uncertainty. Broader project routing belongs on How to Engage.
Service enquiry
Need to define the first piece of work?
Share the current issue, what is already known, and what decision or delivery step is coming next. We will suggest the lightest service scope that moves the work forward.
- Performance instability, upgrade definition, reuse target, odour issue, or procurement trigger.
- Constraints such as footprint, downtime, utility limits, operator capacity, and coordination points.
- Existing data, vendor offers, drawings, or earlier studies that should be folded into the scope.
Related technical areas
Related technical areas often linked to this support.
These areas show the kinds of technical work that may run alongside troubleshooting, process design, retrofit checks, or delivery support. Use them as examples of where the service can go deeper, not as a second routing track.
Nutrient recovery
Recover nutrients from sludge and build the route to stronger returns
Beyond disposal: quantify nutrient potential, select a viable processing route, define the review record needed for market-ready outputs.
Key elements
- Feed characterisation + recovery potential (P/N, metals, stability)
- Processing route selection (dewater / dry / fertiliser / bio-enhancement)
- Market + economics route (quality, off-take conditions, check plan)
Performance uplift
Increase efficiencies across pre- and post-treatment
Identify bottlenecks, stabilise performance, fix in controllable OPEX, without overbuilding or creating new operability risk.
Key elements
- Constraint mapping (hydraulics, solids, aeration, filtration, CIP)
- Controls + monitoring minimums to hold gains through operations
- Retrofit sequencing and delivery-ready scope for upgrades
Polishing and protection
Reduce odour & colour and remove micropollutants
Protect reuse and discharge reputationally and technically, build a verifiable polishing stage.
Key elements
- Root-cause screening + treatability (oxidation, adsorption, membranes)
- Polishing stage selection and upstream protection measures
- Check plan: monitoring, surrogate parameters, review ranges
High-purity water
Process-grade demineralisation via EDI or DM resin polishing
Stable, low-conductivity water for process use, the stage and the upstream protections that keep it reliable.
Key elements
- Target spec definition (conductivity, silica, TOC, hardness)
- Stage logic: RO protection → EDI or DM resin → final polishing
- Regeneration/CIP, uptime assumptions, review record
Sludge conditioning
Condition sludge before incineration or productification
Dewatering, stability, and thermal feed behaviour improved so downstream routes are safer, cheaper, and more consistent.
Key elements
- Polymer / conditioning optimisation and solids handling constraints
- Thermal feed specs (DS%, calorific behaviour, contaminants)
- Downstream connection notes + review information pack
Industrial effluent
Treat high-solids and aggressive industrial effluent
High COD, oils, salts, metals, or difficult solids, robust staged stage with clear protection, monitoring, and review record.
Key elements
- Staged pretreatment + solids strategy to protect downstream units
- Process selection logic (chemical, biological, membranes, brine paths)
- Operability risk flags and commissioning-style check plan
Biological treatment
MBBR biological purification, stable COD/BOD under variable loads
Compact biofilm route: no sludge return loop, robust coarse-bubble aeration, stable removal and clear KPIs.
Key elements
- Load confirmation (COD/BOD, ammonia, peak factors) + target KPIs
- MBBR sizing logic (media fill, specific media area, aeration demand)
- Solids separation connection + controls for robust operation
Hybrid retrofit
MBBR hybrid retrofit, lift capacity without civil expansion
Convert or intensify existing biological stages with moving-bed media for more headroom and simpler operation.
Key elements
- Baseline performance + bottleneck mapping (aeration, clarifier, hydraulics)
- Retrofit constraints + integration plan (tanks, screens, carrier retention)
- Control strategy + commissioning record plan (KPIs, ramp-up, stability)
Metals removal
Heavy metals removal, disposal-ready effluent
Removal route and check requirements for metal-limited discharge or off-site disposal, with robust solids handling.
Key elements
- Target limits + metals list and variability mapping
- Treatability logic (pH control, precipitation, co-precipitation, polishing)
- Sludge/solids management + compliance record
Brine management
ZLD pathway, brine segment, heat/solids constraints, delivery-ready execution route
When maximum recovery still leaves a concentrate problem, ZLD segment logic with clear site inputs, KPIs, and check requirements.
Key elements
- Brine characterisation + bypass logic (what goes to ZLD, what bypasses RO)
- Heat/energy check + technology logic (MVR, thermal integration, crystallisation)
- Solids handling + routing and performance record plan
Request process design or troubleshooting support
Tell us what you are trying to stabilise, upgrade, review, or deliver, and what is already known. We will suggest the right first piece of work for this service. If you are still deciding where to start across EnWater Design, use How to Engage With EnWater Design.
- Current issue / objective (stability, compliance, upgrade, reuse, odour, procurement).
- Constraints (space, downtime ranges, utilities, operator capacity, connections).
- Target outcomes (permit, reuse quality, review ranges, checks at commissioning).
- Procurement context (timeline, budget guardrails, preferred vendors, RFQ stage).