Gravity driven membrane filtration system to improve the water quality in rainwater tanks

2013 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 479-485 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. Kus ◽  
Jaya Kandasamy ◽  
S. Vigneswaran ◽  
H. K. Shon ◽  
G. Moody
Keyword(s):  
Water Quality ◽  
Drinking Water ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Membrane Filtration ◽  
Membrane Filter ◽  
Pilot Scale ◽  
Filter System ◽  
Rainwater Tank ◽  
Gravity Driven ◽  
Rainwater Tanks

The characterisation of rainwater in metropolitan Sydney and in rural New South Wales was undertaken. The results showed that factors such as the lack of vehicular traffic, air pollution and urban contamination meant that rural rainwater water quality was better. The rain water collected in both metropolitan and rural areas generally complied with the 2004 Australian Drinking Water Guidelines except for parameters such as the pH in both the metropolitan and rural rainwater tanks and the turbidity, and lead levels from the metropolitan tanks. This paper also reports the results of a laboratory and a pilot scale study with a deep bed filter (granular activated carbon, GAC) and microfiltration (MF) hollow fibre membrane filter system used to treat raw rainwater collected from a metropolitan rainwater tank. The results of the laboratory experiment and pilot scale systems focus on the non-compliant parameters of the sampling program, i.e. turbidity, lead and dissolved organic carbon (DOC). It was found that rainwater treated by the GAC filter removed the majority of the turbidity and organic substances. The treatment system reduced the concentration of turbidity, lead and DOC to below the Australian Drinking Water Guidelines limits. The pilot plant experiment demonstrated that a GAC filter system and gravity driven membrane could result in low cost and low maintenance operation.

Analysis of first flush to improve the water quality in rainwater tanks

2010 ◽  
Vol 61 (2) ◽  
pp. 421-428 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. Kus ◽  
J. Kandasamy ◽  
S. Vigneswaran ◽  
H. K. Shon
Keyword(s):  
Water Quality ◽  
Drinking Water ◽  
Primary Source ◽  
Life Time ◽  
Rain Water ◽  
Human Consumption ◽  
First Flush ◽  
Roof Runoff ◽  
Rainwater Tank ◽  
Rainwater Tanks

Although most Australians receive their domestic supply from reticulated mains or town water, there are vast areas with very low population densities and few reticulated supplies. In many of these areas rainwater collected in tanks is the primary source of drinking water. Heavy metals have recently become a concern as their concentration in rain water tanks was found to exceed recommended levels suitable for human consumption. Rainwater storage tanks also accumulate contaminants and sediments that settle to the bottom. Although not widely acknowledged, small amounts of contaminants such as lead found in rain water (used as drinking water) may have a cumulative and poisonous effect on human health over a life time. This is true for certain factors that underlie many of the chronic illnesses that are becoming increasingly common in contemporary society. The paper reports on a study which is part of a project that aims to develop a cost effective in-line filtration system to improve water quality in rainwater tanks. To enable this, the characteristics of rainwater need to be known. One component of this characterization is to observe the effects of the first flush on a rainwater tank. Samples of the roof runoff collected from an urban residential roof located in the Sydney Metropolitan Area in the initial first few millimetres of rain were analysed. The results show that bypassing the first 2 mm of rainfall gives water with most water quality parameters compliant with the Australian Drinking Water Guidelines (ADWG) standards. The parameters that did not comply were lead and turbidity, which required bypassing approximately the first 5 mm of rainfall to meet ADWG standards. Molecular weight distribution (MWD) analysis showed that the concentration of rainwater organic matter (RWOM) decreased with increasing amount of roof runoff.

Household rainwater harvesting system – pilot scale gravity driven membrane-based filtration system

2013 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 790-797 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. Kus ◽  
Jaya Kandasamy ◽  
S. Vigneswaran ◽  
H. K. Shon ◽  
G. Moody
Keyword(s):  
Heavy Metals ◽  
Drinking Water ◽  
Organic Matter ◽  
Membrane Fouling ◽  
Membrane Filtration ◽  
Rainwater Harvesting ◽  
Membrane Filter ◽  
Pilot Scale ◽  
Treatment System ◽  
Pre Treatment

This paper presents the results of a pilot scale study consisting of pre-treatment with a granular activated carbon (GAC) filter followed by membrane filtration. Detailed characterisation of rainwater tanks has highlighted that turbidity, dissolved organic carbon (DOC) and heavy metals, in particular lead, were not compliant with the 2004 Australian Drinking Water Guidelines (ADWG). Further, organic matter present in the water causes membrane fouling and leads to carcinogenic compounds upon chlorination. A GAC filter was used as a first step to remove dissolved organic matter (measured in terms of DOC) in particular and also to reduce the concentration, of turbidity and lead. Membrane filtration can remove any remaining solids reducing the concentrations of turbidity and microorganisms. In this study a pilot scale rainwater treatment system consisting of a gravity fed GAC filter and membrane filter (Ultra Flo) was operated for a period of 120 days. The performance of this system was assessed in terms of membrane flux and improvement in water quality measured against the 2004 Australian Drinking Water Guidelines. Determination of the flux especially in the later stages of membrane operation was important to be able to size the filters in a manner that meets the expected demand. The treatment system of GAC filter and membrane filter was effective in reducing the turbidity, DOC and heavy metals. The system reduced the turbidity to levels of 0.3–0.4 NTU, below the ADWG limit of 1 NTU. The concentration of DOC was reduced to below the 2004 Australian Drinking Water Guidelines limit of 0.2 mg/L. The concentration of lead was reduced to less than 0.005 mg/L, and below the ADWD limit of 0.01 mg/L. The concentrations of all other heavy metals were well within the ADWG limits. Further, the GAC filter removed a majority of the organic substances from raw rainwater collected from the roof. After the initial flux decline, the stable flux achieved was 0.47 L/m2/h consistently over the final 60 days of the experiment.

Pilot-scale comparison of cyclically and continuously operated drinking water biofilters: Evaluation of biomass, biological activity and treated water quality

2019 ◽  
Vol 149 ◽  
pp. 488-495 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael J. McKie ◽  
Corinne Bertoia ◽  
Liz Taylor-Edmonds ◽  
Susan A. Andrews ◽  
Robert C. Andrews
Keyword(s):  
Water Quality ◽  
Drinking Water ◽  
Biological Activity ◽  
Pilot Scale ◽  
Treated Water

The impact of investment on drinking water quality in rural China

2017 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 255-269
Author(s):  
Ai Yue ◽  
Yaojiang Shi ◽  
Renfu Luo ◽  
Linxiu Zhang ◽  
Natalie Johnson ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Water Quality ◽  
Drinking Water ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Tap Water ◽  
Rural China ◽  
Ordinary Least Squares ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Representative Data ◽  
Nationally Representative ◽  
The Impact

Purpose Although access to safe drinking water is one of the most important health-related infrastructure programs in the world, drinking water remains a large problem in China today, especially in rural areas. Despite increased government investment in water resource protection and management, there is still an absence of academic studies that are able to document what path the investment has taken and whether it has had any tangible impact. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the impact of drinking water investment on drinking water in China. Design/methodology/approach The authors make use of nationally representative data from 2005 and 2012 to measure the impact of drinking water investment among 2,028 rural households in 101 villages across five provinces. Both ordinary least squares regression and probit regression are used to analyze the correlates and the impact of drinking water investment. Findings The authors demonstrate that water quality was likely a significant problem in 2004 but that China’s investment into drinking water appears to have resulted in initial improvements during the study period. The authors show that the most significant change came about in terms of hardware: villages that received more drinking water investment now have more piped tap water and more access to water treatment infrastructure (disinfecting and filtering facilities). High rates of rural resident satisfaction with drinking water suggest the effects of drinking water investment are being felt at the village level. Originality/value To the authors’ knowledge, this is the first empirical study on drinking water investment over time in rural China using nationally representative data.

scholarly journals Enumeration of Total and Faecal Coliform Bacteria in Drinking Water of Khairpur City

1970 ◽  
Vol 24 (2) ◽  
pp. 163-165 ◽  
Author(s):  
Abdul Hussain Shar ◽  
Yasmeen F Kazi ◽  
Miandad Zardari ◽  
Irshad Hussain Soomro
Keyword(s):  
Water Quality ◽  
Drinking Water ◽  
Membrane Filtration ◽  
Total Coliform ◽  
Faecal Coliform ◽  
World Health ◽  
Source Distribution ◽  
Coliform Bacteria ◽  
Residual Chlorine ◽  
Health Organization

Total coliform (TC) and faecal coliform (FC) bacteria were analyzed in drinking water of Khairpur city. Ninty samples were collected from main reservoir (source), distribution line and consumer taps. pH and residual chlorine of water samples were also determined. For bacteriological analysis inductively membrane filtration (MF) method was used for total coliform (TC) as well as faecal (FC) coliform bacteria. All samples were found contaminated with total coliform (TC) and faecal coliform (FC) and the counts were higher than the maximum microbial contaminant level (MMCL) established by World Health Organization (WHO). It was observed that pH was within the limits of WHO standard (6.5-8.5). The residual chlorine was not detected in any sample of drinking water. Bacteriologically the water quality of the drinking water is unsatisfactory.Keywords: Coliform, Escherichia coli, Water quality, Contamination, SanitationDOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3329/bjm.v24i2.1266

Characteristics of Ion Release from Building Materials during Rainwater Harvesting

2014 ◽  
Vol 955-959 ◽  
pp. 3522-3528
Author(s):  
Jian Feng Zhang ◽  
Ya Xiong Deng ◽  
Zhan Qin Lei ◽  
Wei Xie
Keyword(s):  
Water Quality ◽  
Drinking Water ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Building Materials ◽  
Rainwater Harvesting ◽  
Chinese Government ◽  
Ion Release ◽  
Water Ph ◽  
Materials Used

In the past two decade, the Chinese government has paid a huge effort to solve the problem of drinking water in remote rural. As an alterative success case, rainwater harvesting and utility has been the most efficient way to supplying fresh water in rural areas of the Loess Plateau, a typical water resources serious shortage area in China. Focused on improving the quality of the rural village cistern water, study about the characteristics of ion release from building materials during runoff process with five representative materials used for rainwater collection: concrete, red brick, grey tile, red tile and soil was conducted. The ion releasing process and following effect on cistern water quality index, such as hardness, pH, conductivity, has been analyzed. Results revealed that the most release strength of different materials was arriving at 30s following startup. Furthermore, the test of effects of rain acidity on ion release procession showed that the total ion release increased with storm water pH declining, however, the release strength was irrelevance with runoff’s pH. Based on research results, a detailed suggestion was provided to renovate intake construction of cistern for improving the drinking water quality in remote rural areas of Weibei Semi-arid District.

Patterns of Water Quality in Rural Areas of Assyut Governorate, Egypt

1993 ◽  
Vol 27 (9) ◽  
pp. 55-65 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ruud J. P. M. Platenburg ◽  
Magdi Zaki
Keyword(s):  
Water Quality ◽  
Quality Control ◽  
Drinking Water ◽  
Data Collection ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Research Programme ◽  
Survival Times ◽  
Intervention Package ◽  
Gradual Improvement ◽  
Research Period

In 1990-1991 an action-research programme in the field of rural water supply and sanitation was implemented with the objective “To assess to what extent childhood diarrhoea is reduced by the delivery of hardware facilities which improve water quality, water availability and excreta disposal, and also including an intensive educational package directed toward improving behaviours concerning water use and personal and domestic hygiene”. The intervention in Assyut Governorate comprising the construction of handpumps and latrines and a health education programme, was implemented during the second half of 1990. The data collection and data evaluation have been carried out during the period 1990-1991. Data were collected from the villages served with a complete intervention package as well as in control villages. This paper deals mainly with the water quality issues which were part of the research programme. A comparison is presented for the water quality from both traditional and new handpumps. This comparison is supported by data collection throughout the research period within certain intervals, and by data collected from other handpumps installed at earlier times in areas within Upper Egypt. Findings concerning the actual drinking water quality, and the quality control of intervention and monitoring procedures are also discussed. Major conclusions drawn from the results of the monitoring programme are:–The design, the drilling method and a proper development of handpump wells play an important role in the quality control of its water.–The bacteriological water quality improves only gradually after construction and eventually reaches acceptable levels. However, deep groundwater is thought to be of bacteriologically excellent quality. The most probable explanation for this gradual improvement is therefore the relatively long survival times of bacteria that entered the wells during construction.–Although it is not the intention of this paper to discuss the behavioural changes in the village communities during the research period, it was observed that, while water quality from handpumps is improving with time, the water quality from in-house zirs (storage reservoirs for drinking water) remained poor.

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