Small Town, Big Contamination

The village of Dewitt is located in the heart of Illinois, more than 150 miles from Chicago. Although the town has a population of only 200 residents, a number of contaminants had taken up residence in its water supply.

In 2011, Urbana, Ill.-based consulting firm Berns, Clancy and Associates contacted AdEdge to help clean up the community’s water supply. The filter system was not meeting regulatory requirements,with its elevated levels of arsenic, iron and manganese, and hydrogen sulfide. In addition to these contaminants, the water also had high levels of phosphate, ammonia and total organic carbon.

Using a 50-gallon-per-minute treatment system composed of four 24-inch carbon steel vessels arranged in a parallel configuration, AdEdge tackled the contamination. The vessels were loaded with AdEdge’s AD26 oxidation/filtration media for the removal of arsenic, iron and manganese, and hydrogen sulfide. AD26 media is a NSF 61-certified, manganese dioxide-based filter media. The high filtration rate of the AD26 media allows for the removal of the contaminants while maintaining the existing building’s small footprint.

The AD26 media in the presence of a strong oxidant, which is injected into the raw water, acts as a catalyst for the accelerated removal of the contaminants. The programmable logic controller (PLC) initiates an automatic backwash of the treatment vessels to remove any precipitated solids that may accumulate in the media bed and to extend the life of the AD26 media.

Backwashing occurs one vessel at a time to ensure water is continuously being treated throughout the day. The system fully integrates with the existing post-chlorination system that addresses the high ammonia levels in the water before going to distribution.

The system was successfully commissioned in July 2013. Today, it treats more than 30,000 gallons of water each day, reducing each contaminant to non-detectable levels.

AdEdge’s packaged treatment systems are the ideal contamination solution for small community drinking water systems. Contact AdEdge and let us create a cleaner, safer water supply for your customers.