SABESP is one of the largest water treatment companies in Latin America. They counted on PENETRON concrete waterproofing technology to improve the overall sanitation levels for their key Taubaté / Tremembe sewage treatment plant not far from São Paulo.
Earlier this year, the State of São Paulo, Brazil, inaugurated the upgraded SABESP Taubaté / Tremembe sewage treatment plant, located directly between São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, Brazil’s two most important urban centers. During the inauguration ceremony, the governor of Minas Gerais highlighted the benefits to the municipalities served by the new facility, citing the goal of 100% wastewater treatment by 2015. The current sewage treatment capacity is 1,050 l/s and will increase approximately 40% to 1,450 l/s by 2020.
“The Taubaté project is just one of many successful PENETRON projects in Brazil,” adds Christopher Chen, Director of The PENETRON Group. “This particular project underscores how PENETRON crystalline waterproofing technology is equally effective on old and new structures. Revitalized projects such as Taubaté can not only gain a renewed lease on life though increased concrete durability but also help to lower long term asset maintenance costs.”
This enhanced facility is also a huge factor in the environmental recovery of the Paraíba do Sul River, one of the major rivers of Brazil. It is a main water source for about 13.5 million inhabitants, including 5 million in São Paulo, 8.5 million in the Rio de Janeiro metropolitan area and 1.3 million in the state of Minas Gerais. This region is one of the most industrialized regions in country, with large facilities of well-known global companies, including Volkswagen, Alstom, Ford, LG, Embraer and many others.
Proven in On-Site Tests
After extensive lab tests, the PENETRON System was chosen by SABESP to waterproof all the tanks and seal the existing shrinkage cracks, an area of about 23,000m2. PENECRETE MORTAR was used to treat all the construction joints and tie holes. PENETRON's effectiveness was clearly visible as nearly all leaks and cracks were sealed within two weeks of the final application (see photos).
SABESP is the main sewage and water company in Brazil and the largest basic sanitation company in Latin America. The company invested R$100 million (US$42 million) in the project to treat 1.8 million gallons of wastewater per hour and clearing the pollutant load on the nearby Paraíba do Sul River. Thanks to PENETRON technology, this upgrade is the largest single contribution toward cleaning up the river from domestic sewage.
“SABESP chose the PENETRON System after successful tests showed that PENETRON effectively and permanently protects concrete,” explains Cláudio Neves Ourives, General Director, PENETRON Brasil. “This helped reach their goal of improved universal sanitation for the residents in São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, and also effected a giant step toward restoring the environment.”
The optimized sewage treatment process at the Taubaté / Tremembe plant was awarded a national ANA award by the National Water Agency (ANA) as the best system design sewage treatment in Brazil. This award entitles SABESP to a US$16 million grant from the Federal government’s Depollution Watershed (Prodes) program, which will be invested in future infrastructure enhancements.
Photo taken on March 14, while PENETRON has already sealed the majority of the leaks, there is still substantial leakage through cracks.
Photo taken on March 29, PENETRON has now almost completely stopped the leakage on the tank.
