The Amasya Wastewater Treatment Project represents a landmark environmental infrastructure development for a city of over 100,000 residents. Jennings O’Donovan provided extensive consultancy and technical assistance for the construction of a new 105,000 PE Wastewater Treatment Plant (WwTP), complemented by 55km of sewer collectors ranging from 200mm to 800mm in diameter. The project integrated 10 submersible intermediate pumping stations and over 3,000 new house connections, modernizing the region’s wastewater management to meet stringent EU Urban Wastewater Directives.
A defining feature of this project was the “Green City” initiative, which utilized a circular economy approach to waste. Dewatered sludge from the new WwTP is transported to anaerobic digesters at a nearby solid waste facility. The resulting biogas generates electricity for the national power grid, a model outcome cited by both the Turkish Government and the EU. This technical synergy significantly improved the environmental conditions of the Amasya area while upholding the “polluter pays” principle.
Engineering challenges included siting the plant in a low-lying area beneath the 500-year flood level of the adjacent Yeşilirmak River. Jennings O’Donovan finalized designs for a 700m long, 4m high earthen embankment to ensure the facility’s resilience against extreme flood events. Furthermore, the architectural treatment of the buildings was designed with a “rustic” aesthetic to remain sensitive to the surrounding agricultural landscape and orchards, ensuring the infrastructure harmonizes with its natural environs.
In addition to physical works, the contract focused heavily on capacity building and utility restructuring. By establishing a semi-autonomous water body with full revenue collection authority and implementing a Non-Revenue Water (NRW) leakage detection program, the utility now operates as a self-sustaining, highly efficient entity.