AMS Talks: City of Alamosa Evaluates SafeGuard H2O Arsenic Removal Technology

Since 2008, the City of Alamosa in Colorado has been operating an arsenic removal system based on the use of bulk ferric chloride as a coagulant. With a maximum flow rate capacity of 5.25 million-gallons-per-day (mgd), the city’s water treatment plant blends source water obtained from five wells across the region to meet drinking water needs. Source water contains naturally occurring arsenate [As(V)] and other inorganic contaminants.

The city’s treatment process involves a bulk ferric reagent, which is dosed into raw water at a rate of 17-19 milligrams per liter (mg/L). Following coagulation, the treated water is passed through an ultrafiltration (UF) membrane to remove the ferric-arsenic coagulant.

The filters are backwashed periodically, and the backwash is discharged into the city’s sewerage system. The process reduces arsenic from an influent value of ≥ 35 parts per billion (ppb) to an effluent below the U.S. EPA’s current maximum contaminant level (MCL) of 10 ppb; however, it is dependent on bulk chemicals and presents a number of associated operational issues. Concerned with its reliance on bulk chemicals to meet the current or future arsenic MCL, the City of Alamosa evaluated the SafeGuard™ H2O arsenic removal treatment system, manufactured by Aqua Metrology Systems (AMS), to replace the use of bulk ferric chloride. The evaluation was completed in 2022 via bench-scale testing and subsequent pilot demonstration of the SafeGuard™ H2O system was conducted in 2023.

SEE FULL CAST STUDY ATTACHED

SOURCE

Attached link

Media

Taxonomy

• Arsenic
• Arsenic Mitigation