Full Description

The San Patricio Municipal Water District is a wholesale supplier of water tocities and industry in San Patricio County, Texas, with nine municipal and sixmajor industrial customers. It sells potable, clarified, raw reclaimed andmicrofiltered products. The District operates three water treatment facilitieson a common site. Plant C, the subject of this paper, is a five year oldmicrofiltration facility that includes conventional flocculation and sedimentationprior to the membrane filtration.The Plant C concept was developed in response to a growing need foradditional potable water and a request, in late 1997 from a new industrialcustomer for high-quality process and cooling water for a cogeneration plant.District operations and maintenance personnel from all levels were involved inthe project from the earliest stages. Engineering and other neededconsultants were hired in March of 1998. An extensive pilot-plant programwas outlined and implemented during the spring and summer of 1998.The industrial customer's time schedule was demanding. This paperoutlines the steps required to deliver settled water in November 1999 andmicrofiltered water on January 10, 2000, impressive considering the time,size and complexity of the facilities and technology involved.The paper also presents operational experience gained from continuousoperation of the microfiltration plant including experience with themicrofiltration membrane process. Topics covered include: commentary from operations, maintenance and management;a review of supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) system operational data;experiences with membrane integrity and cleaning;a discussion of facility modifications since startup; and,commentary and comparisons to the Districts other facilities.Details presented include the validity of the pilot-plant data and engineering design decisions made, concerns for algal and other organicgrowth and the effects of pretreatment with chlorine dioxide, alumcoagulation, flocculation and gravity settling.Chemical and energy costs have been on target. Time requirements foroperator and maintenance personnel have been somewhat less thanoriginally budgeted. The operators like the plant because it has been reliable.The sorts of "non-routine" maintenance requirements experienced areconsidered to be in the normal range for startup of a new plant using relativelynew technology. There have been no unpleasant surprises with the operationof the plant for its five years. Dependable operation, superior water qualityand ease of expansion are all experienced with little, if any, premium pricecompared to older technology. Includes figures, appendix.

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Edition: Vol. - No. Published: 03/01/2005 Number of Pages: 14File Size: 1 file , 320 KB