The Municipality of Chatham-Kent Public Utilities Commission in Ontario has awarded USFilter a $1.7 million contract to provide the first microfiltration plant to treat water from Lake Erie. A Memcor® CMF (Continuous Microfiltration) system will provide 6 mgd to over 10,000 residents in the Ontario area. The new South Chatham-Kent Water Treatment Plant will service the area of south Chatham-Kent including the communities of Blenhiem and Erie Beach.
Michael Gundry, project manager for Totten Sims Hubicki Associates, the municipality's consulting engineering firm, said the new CMF system will provide Customers with better quality water and a more reliable system, allowing for community growth.
In May 2000, Chatham-Kent developed a master plan specifically to address future water and wastewater servicing issues in the region. Part of the plan was to focus on two of the region's existing conventional water treatment plants that draw water from Lake Erie. In order to consolidate operations and provide for future water requirements the plants needed to be upgraded or replaced.
During the design of the new plant, five membrane system manufacturers submitted proposals for review. Gundry said that USFilter was selected to supply the membrane technology due to the "best overall life cycle cost while meeting our water quality standards."
According to Gundry, the bid selection criteria were based on the quality of the water, capital, operating and membrane replacement costs, and experience of the manufacturer.
The CMF technology incorporates a patented air/liquid backwash to remove inorganic or organic contaminants greater than 0.2 microns and prevents them from entering the hollow fiber membranes that form the CMF barrier. The direct-flow (outside-in) filtration through the PVDF oxidant resistant membrane fibers provides an efficient use of membrane area and assures the removal of contaminants from the raw water source.
The new plant will also include activated carbon for taste and odor control, and chlorine for disinfection. The unit will be commissioned in the spring of 2003.