About us

Water Treatment Engineers is a New Zealand based consulting firm providing water treatment expertise to water suppliers.

We specialise in solving difficult problems and balancing operational requirements with project requirements.

We have experience in water treatment plant operation, plant optimisation, operational document development, process design, project delivery, troubleshooting and commissioning.

We have worked extensively with municipal water suppliers, small water supplies and industrial/medical applications.

Water Treatment Engineers is based in Auckland and has a strong network of contacts within the water treatment industry including designers, contractors and equipment suppliers.

Key Highlights

Extensive Industry Experience

We pride ourselves on having hands-on practical experience to ensure that the solutions we provide are grounded in reality. Our team has worked on/with:

  • Various water treatment processes from conventional treatment, ion exchange and reverse osmosis through to ultrafiltration, chlorination.
  • Water Sources of varying qualities
  • Clients from small to large
  • Projects from small to large
  • Many different roles throughout projects from concept design through to commissioning, handover and operation.

Client-Focused Approach

Our goal is to deeply understand the issues and requirements of our clients. It is our belief that, if we truly understand a client’s problem, then we can be confident that our solution will both meet and be proportionate to the problem. The Client-Focused Approach reduces the risk of us providing a solution that either does not resolve the issue or costs more than it should.

Health and Safety Excellence

At Water Treatment Engineers NZ, health and safety is at the forefront of everything we do. Our commitment to maintaining the highest standards of safety is demonstrated through our comprehensive approach to risk management.

Risk Management

At Water Treatment Engineers NZ, we believe that risk management is key to achieving successful outcomes for our clients. We employ flexible and effective risk assessment processes because, if risks are not well managed or understood, then even small projects can cause major headaches.

Key risk management techniques we use include:

  • Gathering high quality information to inform the risk process. High quality information allows us to make meaningful decisions about risks.
  • Engaging with the right people who have the appropriate knowledge/experience about the activity or design being assessed.
  • Following structured processes that are sufficiently flexible to incorporate a wide range of risks.

Not proceeding when a risk is either not well understood or not well mitigated and taking the appropriate steps to manage the risk.

Meet the Team

Benjamin Demmer-Knight

Managing Director

BEngNZ, BE (Chemical & Material) (Hons)

Ben is a Water Treatment Engineer who has in depth operational understanding, experience on treatment plants of all sizes, has experience working on a wide range of projects and has extensive commissioning experience.

Ben specializes in projects that are complex, and that have a high level of interaction with operations. He is able to provide support throughout a project from Concept through to Handover and Operational support.

SPECIALISATIONS

  • Plant Optimization
  • Project Integration with Operations
  • Functional Descriptions & SOP development
  • Troubleshooting
  • Detailed process design
  • Project and contract management
  • Construction supervision
  • Commissioning
  • Preparation of installation specifications

PROJECT EXPERIENCE

Taumata Arowai Instrument Upgrade – 2023

Watercare completed a project for upgrading all their sites to meet the updated Taumata Arowai Drinking Water Quality Assurance Rules (2022). It consisted of installing additional compliance analysers required under the new rules. The project consisted of 4 stages based on priority.

Ben’s role in the project was to provide project support and engineering services through stages 2-4. Over 60 water quality analysers were installed across 13 sites requiring a significant amount of collaboration with many stakeholders throughout operations. Ben’s specific set of experience allowed for this project to proceed smoothly with minimal push back or issues.

Snells Water Treatment Plant Upgrade – 2023

Watercare upgraded the Snells Water Treatment Plant (WTP) with permanent AVG filters and a temporary clarifier through a Design-Build process. The upgrade was designed to mitigate the risk of aquifer contamination due to drilling nearby.

Ben had three roles in the project: Design Project Manager, Project Engineer for Construction and Commissioning Engineer. Ben’s operational experience allowed for streamlining of the design process and a smooth handover process.

Muriwai WTP Recommissioning – 2023

During Cyclone Gabrielle landslips caused significant damage to Watercare’s Muriwai Water Treatment Plant. Watercare initiated a project to repair and recommission the plant. Several parallel upgrades were completed including a PLC upgrade requiring re-testing of the entire software.

Ben’s role was to carry out the pre, cold and hot commissioning of the plant. The process was challenging as there was an ongoing landslip risk that required careful health and safety management.

Hibiscus Coast Boost Pump Station – 2022-2023

Watercare completed a new Booster Pump Station supplying 19 MLD to the Whangaparoa region of Auckland. The pump station is designed to increase the flowrate and boost the pressure of water entering the peninsula via two Watermains.

Ben had the role of Commissioning Engineer working alongside the internal Watercare Commissioning Team. Through a careful risk based approach and collaboration with operations, over 14 km of a live, large bore pipeline was flushed without generating a water quality issue for the public.

Waikato 50 Water Treatment Plant – 2021

Watercare completed a fast-tracked 50 MLD water treatment plant. The system uses membranes, BACs and Chlorination to treat water supplied by a Floating Pump Station in the Waikato River. Ben’s role in the project was to provide commissioning support.

Warkworth Wells WTP – 2018-2019

Watercare completed a project for the replacement of an ageing and high risk surface water treatment facility with a new higher capacity ground water treatment plant. The works included constructing an entirely new treatment plant designed to treat iron, manganese and provide disinfection for the Warkworth region.

Ben’s role throughout the project was as the operations main point of contact throughout the design and construction phases and formed a part of the commissioning team. Ben was employed by Watercare at the time of this project.

Auckland Council Small Water Supply Upgrades 2019 – 2021

Auckland Council completed upgrades to 12 small water supplies in a series of projects for community halls, a Marae, and regional parks. Water sources were 4 bore supplies and 8 rain water treatment systems. Acqua by Davey supplied and installed pre-fabricated Water Treatment Plants for each of these sites.

Ben had multiple roles within these projects which included proposal development, pricing, preliminary design, detailed design, project management, documentation and commissioning of each system. Ben was employed by Acqua by Davey at the time of these projects.