With the arrival of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Stage 2 Disinfectants and Disinfection Byproducts Rule in 2006, water utilities began examining options to achieve compliance. Much of the attention has focused on ways of lowering organic matter concentrations at water treatment plants. Fortunately, distribution system O&M strategies often can be implemented quickly and inexpensively.
Stanly County, in central North Carolina, is typical of many smaller rural water utilities in the U.S. Due to excess capacity in the city water system that supplies the surrounding county, Stanly County receives finished water that is often at or above the Maximum Contaminant Level (MCL) for Total Trihalomethanes (TTHMs). Without a treatment plant of its own, Stanly County is limited to few options for bringing their water into compliance.
The Stage 2 Disinfectants/Disinfection Byproducts Rule is presenting tough choice for many water system managers. While some operators have used aeration to reduce Trihalomethanes in storage tanks in the past, it has produced encouraging but inconsistent findings. Now, a Texas utility is using PAX Water's in-tank THM removal system (TRS) with good results.
For most U.S. distribution systems using chloramination, nitrification is a leading water quality concern. However, by combining active mixing with regular tank maintenance and efficient operation, nitrification can be tamed in even the most challenging climates.
A Maine utility uses active mixing to cope with storage tank stratification caused by widely varying seasonal temperatures. Using a PAX Water Mixer, the utility was able to solve residual loss in the hot summer months and prevent ice damage in cold winter months.
Jason Oppenheimer of PAX Water explores how active mixing can be used as a cost-effective and sustainable tool to manage water quality in reservoirs - reducing the amount of chlorine based disinfectants needed while maintaining the highest quality and consistency of water delivered.
Jason Oppenheimer and Peter S. Fiske of PAX Water discuss how active mixing in water storage tanks prevents water quality deterioration from spreading to the distribution system, eliminates the need for flushing and enhances operational efficiency by preventing thermal stratification and ensuring uniform distribution of disinfectants.
PAX Water CEO Peter Fiske discusses the pitfalls of ice damage in water tanks and explains how active mixing can be used as an ice prevention tool. Dr. Fiske points to real world examples of utilities using mixing to safeguard storage tanks, including Dawson Creek, British Columbia and Anchorage, Alaska.
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