Amiad Completes Commissioning and Testing Phase of Two-Stage Filtration System in Butuan
Amiad Filtration Systems announced that the Butuan City Water District (BCWD) filtration system, which was installed in August 2009, has completed its testing and commissioning phase.
The unique two-stage system is now fully functional and is the first half of a projected 2-phase project to provide clean drinking water to over 290,000 citizens of the city of Butuan, in the Philippines.
The system addresses the recurring high turbidity challenge faced by the Butuan City Water District, the sole provider of potable water to the inhabitants of Butuan.
"The Amiad Filtration System installed in Butuan is designed to reduce the high level of turbidity and actually produces clean drinking water that is superior to the quality of bottled water, at a much lower cost,” said Arik Dayan, CEO of Amiad Filtration Systems. “At Amiad, we are dedicated to providing creative and reliable solutions to overcome any water challenge."
The main water source for Butuan, the Taguibo River, suffers from very high turbidity levels - small particles in the water that lead to a cloudy quality. High turbidity in drinking water leads to high risk of gastrointestinal diseases, particularly among immune-compromised people. The problem is compounded by the illegal logging, mining, road construction, and other such activities within the Watershed, all of which raise the amount of turbidity in the water.
Previously, the Butuan City Water District employed a sand bed model of filtration. However, despite the grade and grain size of the sand used to filter the water, turbidity levels exceeded the limitations of the filter and resulted in unclean drinking water. During periods of heavy rain, water supplies have been cut off for days at a time to stop turbid water flowing through the pipelines, leaving nearly the entire city without drinking water.
The system installed by Amiad includes nine self-cleaning filters, including two Amiad Brush Filter strainers which filter raw water down to 300 microns to protect the seven Amiad Micro Fiber Filters (AMF) installed down stream from large debris. The system filters the water down to 2 microns with turbidity of less than 5 NTU – a water quality superior to bottled water, yet at a much lower cost.
"We are delighted to have partnered with Amiad on this crucial task," said Anselmo L. Sang Tian, General Manager of the Butuan City Water District. “Amiad worked closely with us to analyze the predicament we faced and met all of our needs, helping us to overcome the challenge of turbidity and to contribute in providing cleaner water to our citizens.”
Source: Amiad Water Systems Ltd.
