MINNETONKA, Minn., December 16, 2002 - Osmonics Inc. announced that it was chosen to supply a reverse osmosis (RO) water treatment system to Wheatland Electric in Garden City, Kansas. Wheatland Electric will, in turn, supply Garden City residents with pure drinking water as well as using the water for other industrial applications.
Wheatland Electric hired Burns & McDonnell for the Design/Build project that included managing the entire project from planning and constructing of the building to researching and sourcing the water treatment equipment.
On Burns and McDonnell's recommendation, Osmonics was chosen to supply the new RO system, which is comprised of two Osmonics MUNI 2.5 RO Systems. The new water treatment system is scheduled to begin pumping pure water to the over 28,000 Garden City residents beginning in April.
The Osmonics RO Systems will purify well water that comes mainly from the Ogallala Aquifer. The well water will be rough filtered to remove any suspended impurities. It will then pass through each RO generating 80-90% recovery of purified water.
The pure water is then mixed with rough filtered well water, creating a blend of 80% purified and 20% well water before it is distributed. According to Craig Beckman, Osmonics business manager, "The water tastes very much like bottled water and causes fewer spots on dishes. Residents may no longer have to run their water through a softener, or at the very least will cut their salt consumption by 70%."
Osmonics' proven standard platform designs - including all-stainless-steel housings - and vertically integrated business structure enable highly competitive, stable pricing and reliable quality, all factors in selecting the Osmonics MUNI Series(tm) platform products to meet the project's water quality needs. Similar RO installations are operating in cities across the United States and around the globe - especially in countries that depend solely on salty ocean water for drinking.
The system was built and tested at Osmonics' ISO 9001-certified factory and installed at the new plant to purify about 5 million gallons of water a day. The building can hold three more MUNI RO systems to increase pure water production in the future to as much as 12 to 15 million gallons of water a day.
"We are realizing continued growth in the municipal market as diminishing potable water sources, consumer's heightened awareness of water quality and EPA regulations continue to drive demand for our membrane-based municipal water treatment systems," said Curt Weitnauer, vice president and general manager of Osmonics' Process Water Group. "New low-energy membrane technologies are able to provide a cost-effective alternative to conventional technologies, and, in this case, provide for the use of a water supply that might not otherwise be utilized."
Since 1969, Osmonics has helped communities around the world create new sources of drinking water by engineering, manufacturing and supplying membrane-based water treatment equipment. The MUNI Series™ line of energy-efficient water treatment systems enables municipalities to comply with the 1996 Safe Drinking Water Act amendment by treating water for removal of dissolved minerals, arsenic, hardness, color, radium, nitrates, sulfates and nearly all other contaminants.
Osmonics is a manufacturer and worldwide marketer of high-technology water purification and fluid filtration, fluid separation and fluid handling equipment, as well as the replaceable components used in purification, filtration, and separation equipment.
These products are used by a broad range of industrial, commercial, household and institutional customers. Osmonics is traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol OSM.
For further information on Osmonics' technology, call 888-898-OSMO (6766) or 952-933-2277; write to Osmonics at 5951 Clearwater Drive, Minnetonka, MN 55343-8995; or visit the company's web site at www.osmonics.com.
