Evaluation of Environmental and Technical Risks in the West Ahvaz Wastewater Treatment Plant Construction Project using Hierarchical Analysis Process

Subject Areas : Environmental managment

Pouria Bizhanzadeh ¹ (M.Sc. Student, Department of Civil Engineering, Ahvaz Branch, Islamic Azad University, Ahvaz, Iran.)
Katayoun Varshosaz ² (Assistant Professor, Department of Environmental Sciences and Engineering, Ahvaz Branch, Islamic Azad University, Ahvaz, Iran. *(Corresponding Author))
Aslan Egdernezhad ³ (Assistant Professor, Department of Water Sciences and Engineering, Ahvaz Branch, Islamic Azad University, Ahvaz, Iran.)

Received: 2022-11-10 Accepted : 2023-09-09 Published : 2023-09-23

Keywords: Risk Assessment, wastewater treatment plant, EFMEA method, AHP method,

Abstract :

Background and Objectives: Considering that urban and industrial sewage are one of the main factors of pollution entering the environment; environmental effects and technical and operational risks resulting from it have always been considered in the operating phase. But its effects and risks are also important in the construction phase. Therefore, the current research was conducted with the aim of evaluating the environmental and technical risks of the wastewater treatment plant construction project in the west of Ahvaz with the hierarchical analysis process (AHP) in 2021. Material and Methodology: After the study phase, information related to the project was collected through the survey method and presence at the site of the treatment plant, and all executive processes, equipment and facilities were examined. For this purpose, the E-FMEA method and the opinions of experts were used to identify environmental and technical risks. Then, Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) was used for weighting and prioritizing the parameters of the used method. Findings: In total, 19 environmental risks and 24 technical risks were identified in the processes of the West Ahvaz treatment plant construction project. Environmental and technical risks were similar in the two stages of construction of buildings and installation of tanks and facilities. In other stages, technical risk was more important than environmental. The number difference between the two technical and environmental risks in the stages of excavation, installation of foundation and skeleton of structures was 50, 25 and 66%, respectively. Discussion and Conclusion: The comparison of all risks showed that technical risks were about 26% more than environmental risks. In general, the results showed that most of the environmental risks were at an acceptable level and 8 technical risks needed to be resolved as soon as possible.

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