Custom pre-sedimentation systems can be tailored for unique water quality conditions

Pre-sedimentation solutions for water treatment facilities are often utilized with source waters with high solids, turbidity, and/or organics during certain times of the year, such as spring runoff. This process helps reduce these materials from the raw water to more acceptable levels. As a result, other primary treatment processes, such as high-rate settling and filtration, are greatly improved and optimized. Pre-sedimentation (pre-sed) systems can be designed for site-specific needs to address unique raw water quality in lakes, rivers, and streams.

The pre-sed process can involve fairly simple methods, such as settling ponds where hydraulic detention time is the primary variable used to settle large solids, to more sophisticated processes that can reduce larger amounts of turbidity and organics from volatile source waters. Whatever solution you choose, the end goal is always the same: reduce source water solids, turbidity, and/or organics as economically and sustainably as possible before the water is introduced to the main treatment plant processes.

The 3 Benefits of Pre-Sed Process Solutions

A well-designed pre-sed process solution typically has three benefits: operational flexibility, reduced operating costs, and high performance under extreme events.

1. Operational Flexibility

Implementing a pre-sed process in your water treatment plant will increase flexibility in overall treatment operations. Flexibility will help provide process efficiencies and improve finished water quality. For example, our work at a plant in North Central Montana used a pre-sed process primarily utilized for high turbidity during spring runoff, but can be taken “off-line” in the winter.

However, the above-grade concrete basin was designed and constructed with a cover, exterior insulation, and a small pumped heated water loop to allow winter operation even during extremely cold air temperatures. By adding a pre-oxidant and allowing detention time in the pre-sed basin, operators have benefited from improved treatment, dealing with organics and color during cold water conditions.

2. Reduced Operating Costs

Everyone wants lower costs. With the correct pre-sed solution designed to meet your needs, you can reduce operating costs associated with the main treatment processes. Pre-sed can improve filter run times, reduce waste/recycle water, and reduce chemical addition. All these equal improved plant efficiency and lower operating costs.

We observed these benefits on a recent project when the pre-sed process was brought online. The filter run times increased significantly since the pre-sed basins captured the majority of raw water solids and dampened the peaks in turbidity. Increasing filter run times directly affects the number of filter backwash cycles, which results in a reduced volume of backwash waste and less recycled water to return to the head of the plant. Less backwash pumping, less pumping of recycled water, and less volume of water wasted directly impact cost.

3. High Performance Under Extreme Events

An existing treatment plant upgraded with a pre-sed process is more robust even under extreme source water conditions caused by spring runoff, and other events that lead to water quality degradation.

For example, we designed a pre-sed solution for the Milk River in Montana, which experiences very high turbidity peaks during runoff events and sustained organic loads even in the winter months. This solution uses a year-round pre-sed process for large turbidity spikes in the unpredictable spring and for organic oxidation on a year-round basis.

Another project that needed this kind of attention realized similar benefits when treating water from the Yellowstone River. In both these projects, turbidity removal and chemical conditioning occur in the pre-sed basin, which allows the high-rate clarifiers in the conventional treatment process to act as a polishing process to protect the filters from high turbidity loads. This results in optimized filtration even during events due to spring runoff.