Alexandra Cheng, Apoorv Gupta
Abstract
The AguaClara water treatment plant in San Nicolas was inaugurated on April 5, 2014, and has successfully started operation. However, a major problem that has become apparent is the heating of raw water during the day from the source to the plant entrance tank. Raw water travels 4.5 km through a steel pipeline exposed to sunlight which has been identified as the likely cause for the temperature increase. Since the plant is hydraulic and gravity-powered, the temperature of the influent water affects its properties and behavior in the various stages of the AguaClara treatment system, particularly in the sedimentation tank. While the stacked rapid sand liter has been able to keep effluent turbidities low enough to be deemed acceptable, the resulting required amount of backwash places excess stress on the system; therefore, it is imperative to seek a method to maintain a relatively low raw water influent temperature to ensure plant success in producing potable water.
