WesTech Engineering has supplied critical equipment in the construction of the High Point Water Treatment Plant near Henager, Alabama. Built in response to growing populations in and around Henager, the new plant has reduced turbidity and total organic carbon (TOC), increased water quality, and simplified operations and maintenance.
Northeast Alabama Water District (NEAW) services 15,200 connections within 2,052 square miles, resulting in a very large distribution area. Increasing populations expanded the service area and water demand even more, creating the need for a larger water treatment facility. To increase capacity and bring water treatment closer to its residents, NEAW constructed the High Point Water Treatment Plant.
High Point receives its raw water indirectly from the Tennessee River. River water is pumped 5 miles and over 700 feet in elevation to a 4.2 million gallon storage reservoir at the plant location. Managing disinfection byproducts (DBPs) within this large distribution area is difficult at best. Long chlorine contact times, dead zones, and regrowth contribute to high DBP levels. By removing dissolved organic carbon (DOC) in the clarified water, DBP levels are minimized.
After completing a comprehensive study, the engineer selected enhanced coagulation and membrane filtration, specifically solids contact clarifiers and ultrafiltration, as the best method to treat for DOC and turbidity. WesTech was contracted to supply the process equipment for the High Point Plant.
WesTech’s Solids CONTACT CLARIFIER™ is an enhanced flocculation device featuring internal solids recirculation, gentle flocculation, and gravity sedimentation in a single unit. Through TOC removal, the High Point Plant has seen reduced DBP production due, in large part, to the effectiveness of the Solids CONTACT CLARIFIER.
By effectively reducing TOC and turbidity, Solids CONTACT CLARIFIERS have also demonstrated the capability to provide effective pretreatment to membrane filters. The need for chemical cleaning on the filters is decreased with the removal of TOC, in turn increasing the efficiency of the membrane filter.
The WesTech AltaFilter™ Ultrafiltration Membrane System features a pore size of 0.01 microns, providing the highest level of pathogen and particulate matter removal available for low pressure membrane filters. The AltaFilter also consistently produces the highest possible quality filtrate, with greater than 4 log removal of cryptosporidium and giardia.
WesTech’s Solids CONTACT CLARIFIER and ultrafiltration system work together to improve High Point’s overall water quality by reducing turbidity, removing pathogens, and meeting secondary standards. The new High Point facility has been a great improvement to the Northeast Alabama Water District. Turbidity and TOC have been reduced to meet or exceed required levels. Water quality has increased and operations and maintenance has been simplified.
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