PHOENIX, AZ, June 7, 2007 -- The city of Phoenix selected Carollo Engineers to test and evaluate desalination and concentrate management technologies for its future 40 mgd Western Canal Water Treatment Plant (WTP).
Western Canal WTP will receive brackish water from both ground and surface water sources. The desalination process must be adaptable to widely varying source water quality and salinity. Carollo will test a three-stage reverse osmosis membrane configuration using ultra filtration pretreatment to produce a concentrate from surface water for subsequent pilot testing of concentrate management technologies. The concentrate management evaluation will focus on increased permeate recovery using a high pressure membrane with scale inhibitors in comparison to concentrate pretreatment with chemical precipitation options to meet the challenging conditions of varying concentrate composition.
Western Canal WTP will be the largest inland desalination facility in the country. With limited disposal options, selecting the right concentrate management strategy is critical.
"Western Canal represents the final element in the city's water treatment and distribution system master plan," said Paul Kinshella, Treatment Plant Design Division Superintendent. "But the city faces challenges not seen on any previous water treatment project."
The Carollo team includes Separation Processes Inc. and Narasimhan Consulting Services to provide technical support. "We've assembled a strong local team to help the city resolve the critical unknowns needed to optimize the project design," remarked Jerry Russell, P.E., Carollo's Project Manager.
Carollo provides a full range of innovative planning, design and construction management services to meet the water and wastewater needs of municipalities, public agencies, private developers and industrial firms.
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