Waste Water

GrahamTek Systems is fully geared for the global drive to reclaim water rather than over harvesting our natural recourses. To this end we have designed cutting edge technology which treats secondary effluent to planned indirect potable standards. 

  
The 1990s saw a significant change in the micro filtration industry due to dramatically decreased system and membrane costs. These lower costs allowed cost-effective treatment of large volumes of water and wastewater. The ability to treat larger volumes of water allowed the technology to be applied to municipal drinking water and reclamation facilities. Micro filtration now offers an attractive solution for communities requiring the removal of particulate matter, including chlorine-tolerant micro organisms such as Cryptosporidium cysts, without chemical addition. Cities use micro filtration worldwide to supplement their water supplies. f Kranji NEWater, Singapore, uses micro filtration along with reverse osmosis and ultraviolet disinfection to reclaim wastewater and supplement its water supply through groundwater re-injection

NEWater Singapore

To ensure a sustainable water supply and the future development of Singapore, the Public Utilities Board and the Ministry of the Environment of Singapore initiated a joint venture water reclamation study in 1998. The primary objective was to determine the suitability of using reclaimed wastewater (NEWater) as a source of water to supplement Singapore’s water supply.

NEWater is secondary treated effluent that has undergone a stringent purification and treatment process using advanced dual-membrane (micro filtration and reverse osmosis) and ultraviolet technologies. The plan for NEWater was to mix and blend it with reservoir water prior to conventional water treatment to produce potable water (known as planned indirect potable use). GrahamTek is currently running a pilot study at Bedok with NEWater effluent and results are proving that this renewable source is not fiction but already a viable alternative today.
Planned indirect potable use as a source of water is not new. It has been practiced in several parts of the United States for more than 20 years. At Water Factory 21, Orange County Water District, Southern California, high quality water reclaimed from treated secondary effluent water has been injected into groundwater since 1976. Similarly, at Upper Occoquan Sewage Authority (UOSA), North Virginia, high quality reclaimed water has been discharged into Occoquan Reservoir since 1978. Occoquan Reservoir is a source of water for more than a million people living in the vicinity of Washington, DC.

In May 2000, a NEWater pilot facility, built at the Bedok Wastewater plant, began demonstrating the treatment process. An expert panel oversaw the NEWater study.

After evaluating plant performance and extensive testing of final water quality for a period of two years, the expert panel concluded the NEWater is safe for potable use and Singapore should adopt the approach of indirect potable reuse. The water quality has also led the public utilities board to evaluate supplying NEWater to wafer fabrication plants and other industries for non-potable use.

Phase One of the NEWater plant began operation in December 2002. The 10.5 mgd water reclamation plant at Kranji, Singapore, uses submerged continuous micro filtration with reverse osmosis and ultraviolet to produce high purity water from secondary effluent.