USGS Release: Aquifer Recharge Project Does Not Increase Nitrates in Southwestern California

Read the following article about the USGS recently published report on the effects of aquifer recharge in California. 

USGS Release: Aquifer Recharge Project Does Not Increase Nitrates in Southwestern San Bernardino County (11/4/2013 12:30:00 PM)

Tonka Water at WEFTEC 2013

Tonka Water is at WEFTEC 2013! Visit our staff at booth 622 and see our new look! 

Tonka Water is Hiring!

Looking for a highly technical job in a green industry?  The water industry directly contributes to the quality of life for communities everywhere.  Tonka Water has been in the business of blending technology and service to provide safe, clean drinking water for communities for over 56 years, and has a consistent track record of growth and new product development.  Tonka Water has designed and manufactured customized water treatment and water conservation solutions for more than 2200 water systems in operation throughout the US and abroad which provide the quality water millions of people need every day.  Tonka Water has several open positions.  For more information, visit the specific job posting or our careers page.

• Principal or Senior Application Engineer
• Applications Specialist - Controls

President's Corner: Introducing Tonka Water

by Tom Davis

As a leader in the design and manufacture of customized water treatment systems since 1956, we are proud to announce our change in name from Tonka Equipment Company to Tonka Water. This change is part of a larger rebranding effort to emphasize our commitment to the water treatment industry, and reflects the continued growth and evolution of our company.

We pride ourselves on our ability to provide quality systems with innovative technology solutions to meet a wide variety of water needs, and so we needed to create a name and associated brand that tells our story and sets us apart. We’re proud to be Tonka Water with a new name and image that speaks to our historical roots while emphasizing our core competencies.

Innovation Through Pilot Testing

by Pete Betts

A Tonka Water pilot study can provide the answers a city needs for a unique full-scale process design or state regulatory approval.  Tonka Water’s pilot capabilities include on-site bench testing, preliminary assessment testing, performance testing and process equipment simulation for the removal of contaminants.  Tonka Water pilots test new and innovative products, processes and technologies to remove unwanted contaminants.

Every pilot study is treated differently and with its own custom equipment solution.  Tonka Water’s complete systems can be crated and shipped to be erected on-site for all applications and includes necessary chemical feed systems.  Some demonstrations require less than one week or as long as your program requires.  Pilot trailers are fully equipped and available for remote sites and/or to meet any spacing constraints.

Mining Technology

by Mark Machacek, PE

The mining industry continues to play a vital role in the development of natural resources.  Assisting the industry with its mining treatment needs is a role that Tonka Water has played since the early 1980’s, providing process solutions for discharge compliance to USEPA standards in northern Minnesota, as well as contaminant removal systems and waste treatment for large industrial projects throughout the United States.

With a wide variety of equipment solutions, Tonka Water can assist the mining industry to increase future productivity while complying with all environmental regulations.  Our treatment solutions include metal removal and recovery; contaminant treatment and removal, acid mine waste treatment, discharge treatment or reuse applications and potable water production. 

Ravi Shankar, Tonka Water’s mining representative in Canada, believes the mining industry will be an ever-increasing market for water treatment processes as more complex and demanding mining operations develop. 

Customer Service: Water Hammer: What is it & How to Avoid it?

by Jeff Emerson

The sound of a loud, abrupt knocking or booming vibration of the piping is caused by an immediate increase in pressure from the liquid either changing direction or velocity.   

There are many common causes of a water hammer.  First, being when a valve is opened or closed too quickly. This creates shockwaves that move back and forth through the pipes. The waves move backward until they hit a solid obstacle, then forward to the next obstacle and repeat until the pressure is equalized. Other situations include the movement of air pockets in a pipe, in which air is compressed in low spots and carried through the pipeline and expand in high spots, causing pressure variation.  A quick pump startup can also cause a water hammer by inducing the collapse of an empty space downstream.

If left unresolved a water hammer can cause damage to the pipeline and other components.  Solutions to control a water hammer include: locating the source, appropriate startup and shutdown procedures, adjusting speed control valves, the installation of pressure relief valves and air release valves and the use of equipment such as air chambers or expansion tanks.

Ion Exchange Softening and Oxidative Ion Exchange Treatment: Arcadia, FL

by John Berrigan, Jr. PE

Arcadia, Florida chose dual-stage ion exchange treatment to address hardness, radium, sulfide and TOC. The treatment process removes hardness and radium through ion exchange softening. The second stage converts the sulfide to sulfate while adsorbing natural organic matter (NOM) on regenerable ion exchange media. 

Tonka Water's Baker, WV Plant Wins Award

Tonka Water's Baker, WV water treatment plant was recently awarded the Gold Excellence Award in the Water Resources Category by the American Council of Engineering.

The plant was featured in a recent issue of Industrial WaterWorld magazine. Click here to read, and scroll down to the second article.

Tonka Water's Plant in Belgrade Featured in Waterline

In the fall issue of the Minnesota Department of Health's newsletter, it features the City of Belgrade's new water treatment plant. Tonka Water assisted in the custom design and manufacturing for iron and manganese removal as well as avoiding the new arsenic standard of 10 ppb. Since the start-up of the new plant, the City of Belgrade is more assured of its quality water. To read more about this project, click the link below.

Belgrade Avoids Arsenic with New Wells and Treatment Plant

Tonka Water featured in Water System Operator Magazine

Tonka Water recently appeared in the June issue of Water System Operator magazine. It features Tonka Water's innovative solution for a surface water treatment need in Hardy County, W.Va. To read the full article, click the link below.   

Membrane Technology | Water System Operator

Water Online Interview AWWA ACE 2013

This year at AWWA ACE in Denver, Tonka Water's Vice President of Sales, Rick Mann speaks with Water Online Radio. 

Click here to listen.    

Tonka featured in Industrial WaterWorld Magazine

Industrial WaterWorld recently mentioned Tonka Water in their May/June 2013 issue. The article covers Tonka's pilot system, which led to a successful start-up of the Baker Water Treatment Plant in Hardy County, W.Va. To read the full article, click the link below. Tonka is the second article on the webpage.

Pilot Demonstrates Viability of UF for High Solids Water    

Visit Tonka Water at AWWA ACE13 in Denver

Tonka Water will be exhibiting at the upcoming AWWA ACE13 Uniting the World of Water Conference in Denver, CO from June 9-12.  Stop by our booth, #11058.  

NOW HIRING Sales Engineer

The Tonka Water Industrial/International Sales Team is looking for an Engineer who can directly support our sales efforts in systems and water treatment applications.  The ideal candidate will have a four year degree in Chemical Engineering and the desire to learn Tonka Water’s diverse line of products and technologies emphasizing their application in real world designs.  We are looking for a two to four year experienced individual who can travel domestically and internationally approximately 25% of the time, visiting customers, engineers, and prospective customers, and independently develop and formally present recommended treatment designs, applications and customized equipment systems including plans and process configurations.

In order to become proficient at this position, the ideal candidate should have existing design experience, or bring to the position a strong desire to learn detailed water and wastewater physical/chemical treatment system design.  The successful individual should know or be able to learn independent systems analysis and design of water treatment solutions including proficiency at preliminary and final development of P&ID’s, equipment sizing, specifications, controls and instrumentation.  This position entails in-depth review of plans, specifications and contract documents for design and bid, and the ability to set sales strategies, execute marketing plans, and prepare bid proposals.

To apply, click here.

NOW HIRING Full-Time Shop Manager

Tonka Water is seeking an individual experienced in industrial steel fabrication and quality inspection services to lead our team of inspectors and installers.

Qualifications:    • At least five years heavy industrial steel fabrication and/or inspection experience
   • Four year college degree in Manufacturing Engineering, Business Management, or Construction Engineering
   • Minimum three years supervisory/management experience in a manufacturing environment
   • Ability to read and interpret prints
   • Familiarity with ASME code
   • Ability to travel
   • Knowledge of safety programs
   • Ability to identify and implement process improvements
   • Ability to schedule and meet commitments for a diverse group of shop fabrication tasks 

Print ad to be published in the Minnesota Rural Water Association magazine this spring. Click the ad below to get a sneak peak!

Ad to Appear in 2013 ND Bulletin

Small ad to appear in the North Dakota Official Bulletin's Spring and Winter 2013 issues. It is published by N.D. Water and Pollution Control Conference.

Ad to Appear in Clean Water Magazine

Print Ad to appear in the Clean Water magazine this spring. You can find the digital version of the magazine at the Water Online site (www.wateronline.com) a few days before the magazine ships on/around June 3, 2013.

Tonka Water Proudly Introduces our New Brand

Tonka Water (formerly Tonka Equipment Company) is proud to announce our new name and—as you may have noticed—logo. This change is part of a larger rebranding effort to emphasize our commitment to the water treatment industry, and to the water market as a whole. The new brand reflects Tonka Water’s historical roots, emphasizes our core competencies, and brings together our name with our devotion to water. The new brand sets us apart as an industry leader as we continue to provide quality systems with innovative technology solutions to meet your needs.

Click here to be directed to the official press release: http://bit.ly/ZRtYT3
 
by the Tonka Water Marketing Team

Tonka featured in Water System Operator magazine

Tonka was recently published in the February 2013 issue of Water System Operator magazine.  The article highlights Tonka's involvement with the Eau Pleine Water Treatment Plant in Abbotsford, WI to solve their water treatment needs.  For the full article, click the link below.

Good Luck, Good Planning | Water System Operator

Tonka Ion Exchange system makes a difference in Morehead City, NC

by John Berrigan
Tonka Equipment Company

Morehead City recently dedicated a new water treatment plant featuring Tonka Ion Exchange for softening, color and TOC reduction. Interested citizens, community leaders and medical professionals attended the open house. The City was pleased to add this improvement to one of their most essential citizen services – an abundant, appealing, and healthful drinking water supply.

Background

Morehead City’s water supply comes from groundwater wells and contains minerals that create a hard scale in the pipelines. It also contains naturally occurring color that is noticeable in bathtubs, pools, and in drinking cups. For treatment of the hardness and color, Tonka provided three ion exchange vessels using solar salt to produce softened water, and three ion exchange vessels to decolorize the water and remove materials that had the potential to form disinfection byproducts. The facility was designed by McDavid Associates of Farmville, NC.

Ion exchange—an innovative and unique treatment solution

Other communities with similar water typically have used a different process —either activated carbon or reverse osmosis. By contrast, ion exchange uses less than a third of the energy and conserves much more of the water drawn from Morehead City’s wells. From an environmental perspective, the ion exchange process is more energy efficient, the salt used in the system is non-toxic, naturally abundant, and is produced by solar evaporation. A winning combination for

the City!

Positive results enjoyed by all

The positive effect on the community was almost immediate. The local hospital noticed that the cost of assuring high purity water for their instruments and treatment practices dropped in half. Local residents voiced their pleasure about having soft decolorized water. The difference between the well water and the finished water was remarkable. During the peak tourist season, the water plant produces 1,200,000 gallons per day of softened, decolorized water. The Tonka ion exchange system achieves the water quality required by the City of Morehead with a cost-effective, environmentally sound solution.