A New Technology for Achieving Reclaimed Water

Steve Fournier, Eastern US Regional Manager, Amiad Filtration Systems

Harbor Island Utilities, Inc. (HIU) provides water and sewer service to Harbor Island in Beaufort County, S.C. The water and sewer systems were installed in the early 1980s when Harbor Island was under the control of the Fripp Island Company. Under an agreement between the two, Fripp Island is obligated to accept and dispose of the HIU effluent. The Fripp Island Public Service District decided to upgrade its wastewater treatment system to produce “reclaimed water,” so that it could receive higher land application rates and reduced buffers from the South Carolina Department of Health & Environmental Control (SCDHEC).

The waters surrounding Harbor Island are classified as Outstanding Resource Waters. This classification prohibits the discharge of any treated wastewater, regardless of quality, although stormwater discharges are allowed.

Problem and Solution
Click here to see how “Reclaimed water” is defined in SCDHEC Regulation R.61-9.

The HIU effluent of 0.3 MGD (225 GPM) normally met this quality, but could not consistently achieve the tight TSS limitations. HIU evaluated the various filtration technologies and selected the AMF2 Microfiber Filter manufactured by Amiad Corporation.

Amiad met tertiary regulations utilizing the Automatic Self-Cleaning Microfiber Filter technology. The completed 10-micron AMF2 passed inspection and approval by the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Compliance. The system not only met the new regulatory limits, but produced a higher quality effluent consisting of 0.3 PPM TSS, <2 PPM BOD, and 0.8 NTU.

The new filtration system provides high-quality effluent, and also incorporates a state-of-the-art PLC controller allowing the WWTP operators a full menu of monitoring and remote interface options. Capital costs, footprint size, range of filtration degree, and low O&M expenses were the main reasons Robert Gross, PE and owner of HIU, decided to invest in the new technology.

“Amiad proved to me that the technology would provide the water quality that I needed to meet the new tertiary regulations below budget,” said Gross.

Click here to view additional field studies.

Steve Fournier is the Regional Manager, Eastern US for Amiad Filtration Systems. He can be reached at (800) 969-4055, or [email protected].