Client: Ulster Township Municipal Authority
Year Completed: 2010
Project Cost: $3,000,000
The Ulster water system serves a rural, northern Pennsylvania community. With 183 customers, the system supply is a series of shallow groundwater wells located in the Susquehanna River aquifer. The PADEP determined that the well field was under the direct influence of surface water and required filtration.
Wanting to use the latest water filtration techniques, the Ulster Township Municipal Authority hired Gwin, Dobson & Foreman to design the system upgrade. The resulting membrane treatment system is one of the first plants to employ microfiltration in the northeast region of Pennsylvania.
The project included the following elements:
- Extensive pilot testing of membrane filtration system of a Pall Corporation ARIA Model AP-3 cartridge filter system
- The microfiltration (MF) system achieves 6-log removal of pathogens (giardia and cryptosporidium), filtrate turbidity less than 0.1 NTU and 95% MF system recovery
- The process includes prechlorination, coagulation, microfiltration and post-chlorination with a 145,000 gallon per day plant capacity
- Design of control building including chemical feed and storage systems, mechanical and process piping systems, MF “clean-in-place” chemical cleaning system, hot-water boiler system (for MF make-up cleaning water), control room, open waste holding/recycle tank, baffled clearwell, disinfection, metering equipment and sludge drying beds
- Sophisticated computer instrumentation, control and monitoring system for MF operation
- Electrical work, lighting systems, power wiring and standby power system