AdEdge Wins Montana Project of the Year

Our main goal with any project is always clean, safe drinking water—but a little recognition is always nice too! This past year, AdEdge designed a water system to provide a Montana community access to cleaner, safer drinking water, and that system was recently named the state’s project of the year.

The groundwater system in Great Falls, Mont., had exceeded the acceptable arsenic level since 2004. In 2008, the system, which serves more than 500 people, was placed under an administrative order from the Montana Department of Environmental Quality for its arsenic levels that exceeded EPA standards.

In addition to the possible negative health effects for the community, the water district was about to face large fines for lack of compliance with the arsenic limits. In November 2009, Gore Hill contacted AdEdge to design a treatment system to remove the arsenic and iron from two water treatment plant wells.

At the time AdEdge was brought in, the raw water for Plant #1 had an average arsenic level of 18 ppb and an iron level of 1.39 mg/L and Plant #2 had an average arsenic level of 21 ppb and an average iron level of 4.51 mg/L. To put that in perspective, the EPA’s maximum contaminant levels for arsenic and manganese are 10 ppb and 0.3 mg/L, respectively.

Jason Parris, project manager for the Gore Hill project, explained why arsenic can be such a dangerous contaminant.

“Arsenic is a known carcinogen and is linked to problems with skin and the circulatory system,” he said. “Arsenic in drinking water is at very low levels, but prolonged exposure can lead to these symptoms.”

AdEdge designed two treatment systems, each with a skid-mounted AD26 oxidation and filtration package unit. Each site also received a recycle backwash system that reclaims the backwash wastewater and removes the contaminants as a non-hazardous sludge that can be safely disposed of.

What a difference a year makes! The system was started up in April 2011 and since then, both the iron and arsenic levels have been reduced to non-detectable levels. And AdEdge remains on standby to provide any assistance to the district when needed.

All that hard work paid off. Not only did AdEdge help ensure that the community had clean, safe drinking water, in February, Montana Rural Water Systems honored the Gore Hill Water District with the Outstanding Water Treatment System of the Year award. AdEdge was grateful to be part of that accomplishment.

“AdEdge was very proud of the Gore Hill System,” Parris said. “The contractor and engineer involved did a great job on the design and installation.  The system has been shown off many times by the operators.”

To read more about the Gore Hill project, click here.

AdEdge Water Technologies Delivers Arsenic Treatment System to Chilean Community.

by Joseph Naylor

AdEdge recently shipped an arsenic treatment system to the Arica – Pago de Gomez Water Treatment Plant in Chile, to reduce arsenic levels of 18 ppb in the water source, to below the arsenic MCL set by the World Health Organization of 10 ppb.  

The AdEdge system design features three skid mounted treatment units capable of treating up to 1760 gpm (587 gpm per skid). The AdEdge system will remove the arsenic from the groundwater supply using a proven oxidation/filtration process. A central component of the system is the AdEdge ADGS-Plus media which is NSF 61 certified for drinking water.  Commissioning and startup of the system is scheduled for early June, 2012.

AdEdge Water Technologies, LLC (www.adedgetechnologies.com) specializes in the design, development, manufacturing and supply of innovative water treatment systems that remove contaminants from process or aqueous streams. AdEdge offers a full range of conventional and innovative treatment technologies including adsorption, metals precipitation, coagulation, filtration, clarification, ion exchange, advanced oxidation, and membrane based solutions.

Innovative Design Engineering Combined with Effective Treatment Technologies Solve Today’s Arsenic Removal Challenges.

By Greg Gilles, Vice President and Principal, AdEdge Water Technologies, LLC

Many public water systems in Nevada and throughout the U.S are impacted by the USEPA’s MCL for arsenic.  Over the past 10 years since, the promulgation of this revised arsenic standard, many affected public water systems have deployed a variety of technologies for arsenic removal. The primary technologies for arsenic that have emerged, which are in most common use today, are adsorption, oxidation/filtration, and coagulation & filtration.  Recently, AdEdge Water Technologies completed one of the largest arsenic removal projects of its kind for Spring Creek Utilities, in Spring Creek, NV. The project used coagulation & filtration coupled with an innovative backwash water recycle system to achieve applicable NDEP drinking water standards with zero discharge.  This unique, fast track, high profile project features involved a variety of design considerations, piloting, full scale equipment selection, and integration into AdEdge WaterPOD™ (containerized system) enclosures,  chemical feed requirements,  and residuals handling.   The project was implemented in less than 6 months from start to finish treating three individual well sites with flows of 435 gpm, 725 gpm, and 790 gpm respectively.  

The system features AdEdge AD26 coagulation/filtration technology built into three WaterPOD™ systems. Each system consists of separate, completely packaged, pre-piped, instrumented, and automation, housed inside of 40-feet long x 8-feet customized modular buildings, with combined design flows of approximately 1950 GPM.

AdEdge WaterPOD™ systems combine performance with economy, resulting in an ideal solution for sites where space, cost, and installation schedules are critical. The project also features an AdEdge H2Zero™ backwash recycle system. Included is a vertical backwash holding tank with adequate capacity for temporary storage of the backwash water, controls, flow meter, and pump skid with a control panel. Backwash water is collected, separated and re-processed through the treatment system reclaiming up to 95% of the backwash water with no surface discharge.  In addition, AdEdge AD-IN™ CO2 gas injection modules for pH control to enhance and optimize the arsenic treatment process.

This project truly represents the effectiveness of good design engineering and innovative treatment technologies to solve today’s arsenic removal challenges. For more information contact AdEdge Water Technologies, LLC. 1-866-823-3343  info@adedgetechnologies.com   www.adedgetechnologies.com

AdEdge participates in the 2012 GLOBE International Trade Conference.

by Joseph Naylor

This week, AdEdge is participating in GLOBE 2012, the most widely recognized sustainable business summits and environmental technology trade shoes.  The GLOBE conference has a history of attracting large numbers of international attendees.  AdEge is participating as a part of a State of Georgia Department of Industry and Trade mission that allows AdEdge, a cost effective forum to showcase our innovative water treatment technologies systems to executives and delegates from countries around the world.

There are many countries that can benefit from the water treatment technologies AdEdge has to offer as the demand for clean, potable water continues to grow at a faster rate than our global population.

Because the Globe show attracts high level decision making executives and delegates, we hope to make key contacts that will lead to the development of trade networks and export relationships with AdEdge in the international community.

Click here to learn more about about GLOBE 2012.     

AdEdge Water Technologies www.adedgetechnologies.com

AdEdge System Treats Excessive Uranium, Iron and Manganese. Relieves Village Residents of Reliance on Bottled Water.

by Joseph Naylor

Imagine getting notice that the water you and your family have been drinking has excessive uranium levels, and is unsafe to drink.  And then, having to become reliant on bottled water that you have to drive to town to get to use for drinking, cooking, coffee, ice, etc...you get the picture.  Now imagine having to do it for nearly 7 years.  

Recently, AdEdge Water Technologies completed a water treatment project for the Village of Clarks, located in central Nebraska. In 2000, the village was alerted that the water from their public drinking water system contained high uranium levels of over 200 ppb, which far exceeded the proposed EPA Maximum Contaminant Limits (MCLs) of 30 ppb.  In 2005, the Village received an Administrative Order from the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services for non-compliance with the new uranium MCL.  As a result, free, bottled water was provided to Village residents.  In order to comply with the State of Nebraska drinking water regulations, the Village of Clarks needed to enhance their existing water system to remove the uranium, as well as  high iron & manganese levels which were also present in the water. Today, residents see and taste clean water, right from the tap.

To treat the excessive uranium, iron, & manganese levels, AEdge engineers designed a 200 gpm packaged treatment solution that included an AdEdge Model AD26 oxidation / filtration system featuring AdEdge AD26 media, followed by an AD92 uranium removal system featuring AdEdge AD92 IX media. 

The system was started up on January 11, 2012.  A report of the first four (4) weekly effluent samples indicate the source water influent Uranium levels were being treated to below the Minimum Detection Level, taking almost all of the Uranium out of the source water.  A letter from the Monitoring and Compliance Section of the Nebraska Public Drinking Water Program was recently sent to Village board members stating the Village may immediately cease providing alternate water for the purposes of drinking and cooking.  For more information about AdEdge Water Treatment Systems, contact AdEdge Water Technologies.    info@adedgetechnologies.com   1-866-823-3343

Are we really in a financial drought when it comes to financing capital for water treatment systems?

By Joseph Naylor
Marketing Manager, AdEdge Water Technologies, LLC

Is the money not there or are towns and municipalities not looking in the right place.  Why are so many communities sitting stagnant, waiting on the possibility of government financial assistance to upgrade or build a new  water treatment system ? 

While the economy is flat and government funding assistance scarce, may private financial companies are looking for opportunities to provide private capital funding assistance for water treatment projects.

According to Steve Odom, CEO, VCLEAR Resources LLC, “Access to Capital remains the number one reason drinking water treatment projects are stalled in the U.S.…It is not for a lack of cost-effective technologies, but rather the availability of timely and accessible dollars which end users greatly need to accomplish their desires for the water systems and communities they serve. While government sources such as the USDA (RURAL Development) and the EPA can take months for applications and approvals, private funding can take as a little as a week”. 

The fact is, financing assistance is available.  Public-private partnerships (Privatization or P3’s) are entering the dialog in many public hearings across the nation. Public-Private Partnerships utilize private sector resources to finance and or manage a variety of municipal services including water and wastewater treatment.  Public-private partnerships have allowed construction of state-of-the-art water management facilities, using private funds to achieve new and existing EPA water quality standards.

VCLEAR Capital LLC, a sister company of AdEdge Water Technologies, provides financing assistance for water treatment systems. For more information go to www.adedgetechnologies.com/financing,  or contact Bill Gafford, President VCLEAR Capital LLC bill@vclearresources.com.

Dr.Oz! You should be talking about Arsenic in Drinking Water. Doctors do recommend drinking 8 full glasses of water a day.

By Antonio Inojal

Application Engineer, AdEdge Water Technologies, LLC

NBC’s Medical Expert, Dr. Oz, announced that he and his staff did an extensive study on the leading brands of apple juice, and the results were staggering. According to the study, some countries which manufacture apple juice use a pesticide that contains arsenic, a metal that can cause cancer.

Concern about arsenic in apple juice? I think this is a good faith effort (by Dr. Oz) to raise awareness about something that will have INSIGNIFICANT consequences (levels of arsenic in apple juice) in the long run. You can already read comments about moms distrusting trusted brand names such as Gerber over this issue. The EPA’s MCL for arsenic in drinking water is based on the capacity of the metal (due to its toxicity) to result in 1 death over a million inhabitants caused by the daily consumption of 2 liters of water for 70 years (taking the average person being 70 Kg). Keep in mind that a baby drinks liquid in proportion to his/her own body weight. Unless you completely substitute apple juice for water in your daily diet, I personally don’t think anyone consumes 2 liters of apple juice every day. The FDA has already sent their own letter to Dr. Oz where they claim that their own tests of the same batches of apple juice revealed much lower inorganic arsenic content than those tested by the lab contracted by Dr. Oz.

Arsenic in drinking water on the other hand is a much more prominent issue here in the U.S. and around the World.  There are water systems in the U.S., including our Native American Nations in the western U.S. , that deliver water that exceeds the EPA MCL of 10/ ppb.   Awareness of the effects of excessive   arsenic in drinking water among consumers is increasing across the country. Companies such as ours, AdEdge Water Technologies provides highly effective treatment solutions to both municipal and residential customers for excessive  arsenic levels in drinking water.  


Perhaps an appropriate follow-up story from Dr. Oz would be to address the more common issue of arsenic in drinking water that consumers' in some areas of the country face.