The wastewater chemical treatment expert: an interview with Andy Dargue

Wastewater chemical treatment specialist and founder of Aqua Advice, Andy Dargue has over thirty years’ experience in the sector. We asked him to share some thoughts on the wastewater treatment industry:  

How did you arrive at a career as a wastewater chemical treatment consultant?

Having qualified with degree in applied chemistry, I gained a job as a works chemist with responsibility for a wastewater chemical treatment plant.

Having been involved in the development and improvement of this plant, I then gained further experience with several sites including managing a waste management facility.

I have always been involved in developing new wastewater chemical treatment solutions and technology such as sulphate removal and online monitoring.

How has wastewater treatment evolved since you began your consultancy?

There is now much more focus on instrumentation, monitoring and automation. Lots of sites, for example, are looking at how they can log and access data remotely.  

This approach only allows changes to be made more quickly to respond to how the wastewater treatment plant is performing, it also means that the plant can be remotely monitored and controlled.

Has environmental awareness resulted in any changes within the wastewater treatment sector?

Companies are now more focussed on their own environmental performance and see it as key to the future of their business.

Legislation and the implementation of new legislation or revised consent limits are always important in driving improvements in wastewater treatment and performance.

What do you think is the future of wastewater treatment?

As I’ve mentioned earlier, wastewater chemical treatment plants are increasingly focusing on instrumentation and automation.

This is in part due to there being fewer wastewater treatment specialists. As a result, working with a wastewater treatment consultancy is perhaps the most efficient way of managing your treatment plant.  

Partnering with a consultant will open your site up to new ideas and technology, as well as optimising existing facilities in ways that may have not been previously considered.

To discuss how Aqua Advice could help with your wastewater chemical treatment requirements please get in touch.