Filtration processes efficiently remove most organisms but the accumulation and potential
development of some of these organisms within the filter media can potentially lead to water quality
problems, such as microbial non-compliance or aesthetic problems of the distributed water. Despite
the fact that the risks related to filter colonization are usually managed by water
professionals, little information is available concerning the level of contamination of typical filter
media used for potable water production. In that context, the objectives of this project were to
characterize the state of media contamination of a number of filtration plants and to optimize the
procedures applied for media cleaning, in case of abundant colonization. The preliminary results
obtained among 14 filtration units indicate that all the filter media, regardless of the type of media, are
colonized by various organisms (amoebae, aerobic spores, E. coli, nematodes, etc.), and that the level
of contamination generally depends on the influent water quality. The effectiveness of chlorinated
backwash is not proven, whereas a higher backwash flow rate tends to improve the removal of
organisms. Site investigations are still in progress and pilot scale trials will be undertaken to define
decontamination procedures. Includes 12 references, tables, figures.
| Edition : | Vol. - No. |
| File Size : | 1
file
, 180 KB |
| Note : | This product is unavailable in Ukraine, Russia, Belarus |
| Number of Pages : | 10 |
| Published : | 11/01/2007 |
