MWV Nuchar powdered activated carbon has enabled Orange Water & Sewer Authority (OWASA) to meet water quality targets in the Carrboro-Chapel Hill community for over five years.
"Wood-based activated carbon provides the adsorption we need to remove total organic carbon (TOC) in our drinking water treatment process to meet disinfection by-product requirements and treat taste and odor episodes. Actual carbon performance in our process exceeds TOC removal as predicted by lab-scale jar testing," says Kenneth Loflin, OWASA Water Supply and Treatment Manager.
More than a 70 percent reduction in total organic carbon is achieved by using wood-based carbon in combination with coagulant and other chemicals. A temporary switch to a competitive powdered carbon resulted in less than 58 percent TOC reduction. The target set by the EPA for OWASA is 50 percent TOC removal. Reducing TOC beyond the EPA target also decreases trihalomethane and haloacetic acid levels, by-products of chlorine disinfection. Chlorine reacts with organic material in the raw water, forming disinfection by-products, which are regulated by the EPA.
OWASA has a strong history of providing high quality water to its customers by producing water that exceeds state and federal drinking water requirements and through voluntary participation in the AWWA Partnership for Safe Water. OWASA has received the AWWA Director’s Award consecutively for four years, as a reward for their voluntary effort to provide safe, clean drinking water with low turbidity.
Nuchar activated carbon contributes to the consistent production of high quality drinking water for OWASA customers.
For more information, go to www.mwv.com, or call us at +1 (804) 444-1000.