During the summer and early fall of 2001, higher than usual raw and treated water manganese
levels were detected at the District Municipality of Muskoka MacTier Water Treatment Plant
(WTP) located in Ontario, Canada. The elevated treated water manganese levels produced
aesthetically unpleasant water once distributed throughout the distribution system. While in
the distribution system, the dissolved oxygen in the treated water slowly oxidized the dissolved
manganese into a particulate form and as a result imparted a black/brown color to the water.
The oxidation of the manganese also resulted in the formation of a brown deposit/coating in
the analytical instruments at the WTP, and thereby requiring the plant staff to clean and
maintain instruments more frequently.
During the same time period, higher than usual manganese levels were also detected at the Bala
WTP. By pre-chlorinating the raw water at the Bala WTP, manganese levels were reduced to
acceptable levels. This form of pre-treatment however did not sufficiently reduce the
manganese levels at the MacTier WTP.
In order to understand the occurrence of the sudden rise in manganese concentrations, an
extensive study was undertaken to investigate the source of manganese and to establish factors
that contributed to the sudden rise in manganese levels. The scope of the study was later
expanded to determine a treatment approach that could be applied to reduce manganese
concentrations at the MacTier WTP. Includes table, figures.
| Edition : | Vol. - No. |
| File Size : | 1
file
, 380 KB |
| Note : | This product is unavailable in Ukraine, Russia, Belarus |
| Number of Pages : | 10 |
| Published : | 06/16/2002 |
