Black & Veatch and Thames Water Establish Best Practices for MRO of Granular Media Filters

Black & Veatch Corporation, a global engineering, construction and consulting company, in conjunction with Thames Water Utilities, Ltd. of the United Kingdom, has completed a comprehensive report on the operations and maintenance of granular media filters. The American Water Works Association Research Foundation (AwwaRF) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) sponsored and published the Filter Maintenance and Operations Guidance Manual to provide water utility employees and other water treatment professionals with practical tools to determine current conditions and performance, identify deficiencies and solve pretreatment and filtration problems, and optimize the operation and maintenance of rapid gravity and pressure filtration plants.

"The comprehensive, four-year study draws on the insights and the differing water characteristics of numerous treatment facilities in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom," said Principal Investigator Dr. Gary Logsdon, senior water research engineer and a member of PROTEUS, Black & Veatch’s global team of water and wastewater treatment process and technology experts. "The research and resulting manual establishes international best practices for maximizing assets and enhancing water filtration practices."

The manual emphasizes the development of detailed preventive maintenance programs, backwash methods and techniques to help utility and plant managers, operators and consultants accurately assess and improve filter performance. The project team of filtration experts from Black & Veatch and Thames Water incorporated the collective wisdom and experience of 36 water utilities in North America, a utility in the United Kingdom and another in Australia, peer-reviewed literature, AWWA conference proceedings, a Project Advisory Committee and a Technical Review Group.

According to AwwaRF Project Manager Traci Case, a guidance manual was needed to help water utilities cope with increasingly stringent regulatory standards for water filtration plants employing granular media filters. It is expected to result in more effective problem-solving and improved filtered water quality. Technology Transfer Workshops have helped launch the manual, which is now available to AwwaRF sponsors and will be sold to other individuals and organizations in 2003 by the American Water Works Association.

"Black & Veatch is proud to play a prominent part in this important AwwaRF project," said Dan McCarthy, president of the Americas Division within the company’s Water Sector. "We continue to build a world of difference through innovation, technology application, and participation in this and other significant water industry research efforts."

Source: Black & Veatch