Photo By Edward Rivera | U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Task Force Water contractor sets up a Mobile Water...... read more read more
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Task Force Water contractors delivered a Reverse Osmosis Water Purification Unit to the University of North Carolina, Asheville campus Oct. 22. The RO, is an integral part of cleaning non-potable water. The RO, a self-contained system, uses pressure to strip water of all contaminants. Installation of the RO and the remaining pre and post treatment systems will enable the delivery of potable water to the university dining facility and dormitories that house nearly 1,600 students on campus.
The Water Purification Process is necessary to prevent various waterborne diseases such as Dysentery and Typhoid. The total mobile water treatment system maintains certain characteristics of water, such as taste, odor, clarity, hardness to levels that are deemed acceptable by the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality and the Environmental Protection Agency.
“Reverse Osmosis units are the star of the show in our mobile water treatment system,” said TF-Water Project Manager Tyler Baggett, New Orleans District civil engineer. “When water passes through the membrane, the filter which cleans the water, only water can pass through. Everything else is too big to fit and gets stripped away: things like minerals, bacteria, viruses, and salt.”
According to Baggett, the water that comes directly out of the RO unit is actually “too pure” to be considered drinking water.
“We have to add back in all the necessary minerals and treatments to get the water to the optimal drinking quality, just without all the bad stuff. It’s a very neat process and I’m glad that a little bit of science can get students back on campus and help restore some normalcy back to the community.”
Currently the temporary Mobile Water Treatment System is being connected to the university’s water system. In the coming days the UNCA water lines will be flushed with clean water to push out the non-potable water currently in the lines. Once that is complete, the university will test the water in its buildings deeming the water safe.
Baggett said the contractor will maintain and operate the system on site continuously for a minimum of six months. “We can manage the system longer until the city can provide its own potable water to the campus.”
Task Force Water is charged with assessing current water conditions as well as identifying opportunities to leverage temporary water treatment systems to expedite delivery of potable water to critical facilities in areas of North Carolina affected by Hurricane Helene. The Task Force Water team currently consists of personnel from the USACE New Orleans, Memphis and Mobile Districts.
| Date Taken: | 10.24.2024 |
| Date Posted: | 10.24.2024 10:21 |
| Story ID: | 483841 |
| Location: | ASHEVILLE, NORTH CAROLINA, US |
| Web Views: | 121 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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Army Corps of Engineers
