Frankfort, Illinois Awarded APWA Project of the Year

by Steve Montray
Tonka Equipment Company

The Frankfort, Illinois water plant, designed by Robinson Engineering, was awarded an APWA Project of the Year.

Before the water treatment project began, the Village of Frankfort faced high levels of iron in Well #7 and started looking for a way to provide clean drinking water for the community. Robinson Engineering, Ltd. was commissioned soon after with the design and construction observation. During the contracting process, Robinson Engineering saw an opportunity for Frankfort to save money by dividing the project into two contracts; one contract for the filter manufacturer and the other for the installation of the filters. The Village saved roughly over $50,000 with two separate bidding contracts. 

Arsenic in the Southwest

by TJ

Tonka Equipment Company

Arsenic continues to be a concern throughout the Southwest as many communities have levels just above the maximum contaminant limit of 10 micrograms per liter (µg/L). These cities are looking at Tonka’s co-precipitation filtration process paired with Simul-Wash™ for an efficient, cost-effective way to remove arsenic, while conserving water and reducing operating costs.

The process

Iron is removed from water by oxidation, precipitation and filtration, a process where Tonka has particular expertise and rich history. Arsenic, in its oxidized state, will bind and coprecipitate with iron, which can then be removed through conventional media filtration. 

Make Backwash More Effective

by Rick Boyum
Tonka Equipment Company

Improve your overall filter performance and help reduce backwash frequency by optimizing every backwash.

Increased backwash frequency is recommended for:

• Excessive headloss (debris buildup in media)
• Diminished effluent water quality

About once a month:

• Gather a sample of backwash water halfway through Simul-Wash™ or a backwash.

New Sugar Creek Water Plant

by Amanda Conley
Tonka Equipment Company

Sometimes an existing water facility will not always get the job done. In Boone County, Indiana, the Sugar Creek Water Plant’s two outdated filters were coming to an end in life. The plant needed a system that would remove the iron from their water as well as create an easier backwash process that did not waste water or power. Investing in new filters was an obvious solution.

The county chose to replace the existing facility with equipment for an iron removal plant. A new aerator and three, 10’ by 38’ Horizontal Pressure Filters (HPF) had been exactly what the county needed. In Lebanon’s local news, a reporter filmed the start of the HPF installation process when the crane horizontally inserted the filters. After all the coordination efforts and construction, controls were installed and Sugar Creek’s newly improved plant started up in March.

More about Lebanon's Plant Upgrade:

http://www.lebanon-utilities.com/w_projects.html

Delivering High Rate Media and Low Backwash Waste

by Alan Schneider
Tonka Equipment Company



The Spanaway Water District, located near Tacoma, Washington, needed a solution to manganese problems at a 900 GPM well, and a filter design that would fit into their new treatment building layout. They also wanted to minimize the backwash waste set up for discharge into a small infiltration basin. The District had previous failures of off-the-shelf standardized skidmounted vertical pressure filter systems, so they contacted Tonka, looking for a fresh, more robust approach.