The City of Sioux Falls, SD recently reconstructed the effluent filtration system at the City's Water Reclamation Facility (WRF). The WRF now produces an effluent of exceptional quality, suitable for a wide range of non-potable reuse. This outstanding project substantially reduced the operational cost of effluent filtration while retaining its water quality benefits. The project also nearly doubled the hydraulic capacity of the existing system, without increasing its physical footprint. Therefore, the project should cause designers to reconsider the feasibility of effluent filtration, even in scenarios where it is not strictly required to meet effluent permit limits. Innovative aspects of the project include the use of larger-than-typical media size and unprecedented volumes of air in an air/water backwash process. Full-scale data are presented to demonstrate the capability of un-stratified large anthracite media to produce an effluent of reusable quality while maximizing hydraulic through-put and reducing water usage for backwashing. Ancillary benefits include reduced electricity costs and enhanced disinfection.
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