This slide presentation outlines a project by Bexar Metropolitan Development Corporation of Bexar County, Texas, to develop a reliable, high quality alternate
water resource to Edwards Aquifer. Project background and goals include:
using surface water as the source;
two stage process including membranes;
not impacted by storm events;
total organic carbon (TOC) < 2 mg/L and turbidity < 0.1 NTU (95%);
highly automated, requiring small staff;
guaranteeing 9 MGD;
costs less that $1.25 / 1000 Gallons; facility has reduced Edwards Aquifer need by 10,927
acre-feet annually;
consistently high quality effluent despite periodic high
influent turbidity values;
excellent response by plant's monitoring and
notification system during and after storm events; and,
extremely low number of broken fibers (only 536 out of
5.2 million fibers in 5 years of operations). A qualifying pilot study evaluated three competing membranes, and project fast facts and milestones included:
cost of
$23 million for construction;
10 year O&M contract;
plant capacity 9 MGD per original design;
schedule - 16 months (including three month
rain delay); and,
expanded to 15.5 MGD - March 2005. Specific topics outlined include: plant flow design; raw water structure; UltraPulsator operation and construction; AquaSource membrane filtration; AquaSource ultrafiltration membrane; membrane barrier; disinfection/distribution; plant control guide; plant modifications; project score card; regulatory compliance; and, project costs.