Advanced membrane technology from GE Water & Process Technologies is facilitating the reuse of more than 3.5-million liters of water annually at the LEED-certified Earth Rangers Center in Ontario, Canada,.
An onsite, advanced membrane bioreactor system enables the center to collect grey and black water from sinks and toilets, treat up to 9,850 liters daily to near-drinking-water quality, and reuse the treated effluent as flush water and for irrigating the building’s green roof and landscape features.
Lorraine Bolsinger, GE’s vice president of ecomagination, joined GE Water & Process Technologies to present the facility with a 2006 global ecomagination Leadership Award, which recognized Earth Rangers’ leading example of how advanced wastewater treatment technology can reduce demand on potable water supplies and preserve environmental health.
Power industry to spend $4B for water treatment chemicals
The world market for water and wastewater treatment chemicals in the power sector will increase from US$ 3.4 billion in 2006 to $4 billion in 2010, according to McIlvaine Company’s report Water & Wastewater Treatment Chemicals: World Markets.
Other industries will account for $19 billion, raising the total market to $23 billion in 2010. This growth is due primarily to the switch from gas to coal as the new fuel for new plants. Coal-fired plants are large purchasers of treatment chemicals, whereas gas turbine plants are only modest users.
In Asia, there will be rapid growth in the sale of treatment chemicals. Millions of Chinese are migrating from rural areas to cities, resulting in a boom in the construction of water and wastewater plants. Treatment chemical purchases for wastewater plants are expected to increase from $1 billion in 2006 to $1.6 billion in 2010. For more information on the report, visit http://www.mcilvainecompany.com.
Conveyance project to protect Lake Mead
The Systems Conveyance and Operations Program (SCOP) pipeline and tunnel project once completed will convey effluent from Clean Water Coalition (CWC) member agencies’ wastewater treatment plants to a new discharge location in Lake Mead., Nevada.
Removing the effluent from the Las Vegas Wash and redirecting the discharge location from Las Vegas Bay to a location near Boulder Island will protect the quality of the water in Lake Mead. Black & Veatch is serving as the lead design engineer for SCOP under an engineering services contract awarded by the CWC.
The need for a new discharge location is driven by increasingly stringent water quality regulations, increasing effluent flows, protection of a drinking water source, protection of the Las Vegas Wash and Bay—especially at low lake levels caused by the drought—and continued reliance on Colorado River system return-flow credits earned by returning water to the river.
Black & Veatch has responsibility for the 30 percent design of the entire SCOP system including the 7.5-mile tunnel through River Mountain. Black & Veatch will also prepare the geotechnical program required for detailed design, conduct the subsurface investigation program, determine the right-of-way requirements, and perform the project survey. The B&V team will review the final designs of all project elements and provide design support during construction.
The SCOP project is an important aspect of southern Nevada’s water resources management strategy. The CWC and the Southern Nevada Water Authority are coordinating the placement of a new potable water intake and the effluent discharge location to provide the best water quality while ensuring capacity for the future.
“The system under design will give the CWC maximum flexibility for managing treated effluent,” said Don Froehlich, B&V project director. “Completion of the SCOP project will enhance the water quality of Lake Mead for Valley residents, visitors and millions of downstream water users despite increased effluent flows and decreased lake levels.”
Field Notes
Dominican Republic: The Mata Larga Water Treatment Plant, located in San Francisco de Macoris in the northeast region of the country, was inaugurated by the President of the Dominican Republic, H. E. Leonel Férnandez. The UK company Biwater Plc designed and constructed the scheme. Biwater began working on the turnkey contract in 2003. The projects include a one-cumec water treatment plant, three pumping stations, two storage reservoirs, 30 km of raw water pipeline, and 40 km of treated water distribution pipeline. The new plant provides potable water to more than 300,000 people to World Health Organization (WHO) standards using conventional treatment processes together with chemical and chlorine dosing.
USA: Blue Water Technologies acquired Applied Process Technology Inc., a company that sells filtration equipment for the municipal and industrial water treatment market under the brand name Centraflo ™. These filters have an issued patent and Title 22 approval in California designating equipment approval for wastewater reuse. Most US states with water reclamation programs honor this Title-22 approval. Applied Process Technology has more than 220 filter installations in the US and Canada. The Centra-flo filter is a key component in Blue Water’s Blue PRO™ advanced phosphorus removal process. Applied Process Technology is based in Conroe, Texas. Bue Water Technologies is based in Hayden, Idaho.
USA: American Water of Voorhees, New Jersey, was awarded a three-year contract to operate and manage water and wastewater treatment plants in Fort Bragg, North Carolina. Under the contract, American Water’s Military Services Group will be subcontractor to Harnett County, North Carolina. Following a 90-day transition period, the company will be responsible for the interim operations and maintenance of Fort Bragg’s 10.6-mgd water treatment plant and eight-mgd wastewater treatment plant. American Water is the largest water services provider in North America.
USA: On October 5 Aqua America announced that it completed four water system acquisitions and purchased another wastewater services business. The latest acquisitions, with a combined purchase prices of nearly US$ 600,000, add to previously announced transactions for the third quarter, resulting in a total of five utility acquisitions and three in the wastewater services and disposal business for the quarter. The company completed a total of 18 acquisitions in the first nine months of 2006. The company is expected to close its proposed acquisition of New York Water Service Corporation before the end of 2006. The $51 million transaction, which is pending approval by the New York Public Service Commission, will expand Aqua America’s overall customer base by more than five percent and transform New York into the company’s seventh largest state operation. Aqua America is the largest U.S.-based publicly traded water and wastewater utility holding company, serving more than 2.5 million.
