Aquator Group, one of the UK's leading wastewater treatment companies, is coming to the Middle East.

The company will officially open its Middle East offices in Bahrain within the next month.

''In April 2002, the Ministry of Works, Sewage and Drainage Directorate, and Aquator undertook trials of submerged membrane bioreactor technology in Bahrain's main sewage treatment plant in Tubli Bay,'' says Robert Wakefield of Aquator Group. ''The pilot plant installed has proved successful in treating effluent to an agreed standard - 5 BOD, 5 ammonia, zero parasites and very low levels of coliforms - and has coped successfully with very high ambient temperatures and, on occasion, with septic sewage.''

Aquator Group was formed as the result of last year's management purchase of the MBR technology (membrane bioreactor) division of the UK utility company Wessex Water. ''This MBR process is now operational in over 800 plants worldwide including more than 520 municipal sewage treatment applications and more than 360 industrial applications,'' says Wakefield. ''These include brewing, dairy, textile, food processing, pharmaceutical and maritime treatments, amongst others.''

The group continues to be recognised as a world leader in the supply and operation of the submerged flat sheet membrane wastewater treatment process, pioneered by the Japanese Kubota Corporation.

The company provides solutions across a wide variety of wastewater treatment environments. These include household units, compact modular plants that can be loaded or unloaded from a low loader, and are suitable for new or existing housing developments, oil rigs, labour housing, temporary conurbations, office blocks, hotels and, of course, bespoke plants for towns and cities.

''MBR Technology continues to win orders because this process produces negligible odour, high-quality discharged water and uses the minimal space and energy requirements, providing a sensitive solution for local communities and environment,'' explains Wakefield.

He continues: ''The Aquator Group has fulfilled some of the world's most demanding process and consent criteria with MBR Technology, with particular note being in the Australian wastewater treatment market. The group bid for and was successful in being awarded the contract for the first commercial MBR plant in Australia at Picnic Bay on the Great Barrier Reef, a world heritage site.

''MBR was the natural choice for this project as the discharged permeate (water) will flow directly into the seas of the Great Barrier Reef where the treatment of wastewater is required to be the most complete, advanced and effective of its kind available today and for the foreseeable future.''

The unique flat sheet membrane process was first developed in the late 1980s in Japan at the behest of the Japanese government, who sought a long-term environmentally-sensitive solution to wastewater treatments, according to Wakefield. ''The first commercial plants became operational in the1990s, and in the years since, the technology has become regarded as an industry quality benchmark, which meets and improves upon t exacting quality standards required in the treatment of wastewater anywhere in the world,'' he says.

The company believes the reasons for returning wastewater from manufacturing as well as municipal sources, to a reuseable condition is simple. ''As the human population increases so does the demand for water. This water is required not just to satisfy the thirst of our increasing populations but also our food sources, be they animal or vegetable, our hygiene needs, as well as reuse in our manufacturing and industrial requirements, says Wakefield. ''Indeed it is hard to think of a part of daily life where water does not, or has not played a part. Water, like all of nature's reserves, is not infinite and requires correct management if we are to be able to rely on it for generations to come.

''It is with this legacy in mind that MBR Technology leads the way in wastewater treatment for re-use, providing the highest quality non-potable water for use throughout the world in many applications including replenishing water courses, irrigation of crops, and manufacturing processes.

''The process removes all giardia, cryptosporidia, nematodes and parasites plus a minimum log 6 reduction in bacteria, where typical values are <5 coliforms per 100 mls, and 3 log reduction in viruses, where typical values are < 1 per 100 mls.

''MBR Technology is able to handle a diverse range of liquid wastes and treat them in a single stage to meet and exceed the highest regulatory regulations. The treatment process has a wide range of applications and is relevant to maritime (including oil and gas exploration) industrial or municipal applications that use water, or creates or treats a wastewater.

The Aquator Group consists of three companies, which are engaged in the sales and operation of membrane wastewater treatment plants, either directly or through its subsidiary companies.