Media Release

PENETRON Helps Clean Up the North Fork Water Treatment Plant

USA

The Brookville, Pennsylvania (U.S.A.) water treatment plant recently inaugurated an advanced membrane filtration system to update the existing water treatment plant originally built in 1911. Comprehensive waterproofing of the new structure was carried out with PENETRON crystalline concrete technology.

The original Brookville water treatment plant used an outdated filtration process that purified drinking water by running it through layers of sand and gravel. In recent years, discharges from abandoned underground coal mines were major threats to water quality and the plant also experienced difficulty in meeting newer, more stringent water quality requirements for pathogen reduction, particle removal, disinfection by-products and algae control. A more efficient water treatment system was needed.

Moving Up to Membrane Filtration

The Brookville Municipal Authority, which serves the Brookville and Corsica boroughs and Rose and Union townships, asked Gwin, Dobson & Foreman (GD&F) to design a new water treatment plant. After extensive pilot testing, GD&F proposed a membrane filtration system with sedimentation and ultraviolet disinfection to comply with the most stringent water quality standards for the Brookville plant, located at the North Fork Redbank Creek reservoir.

The membrane filtration system is the most advanced in the region, yet it is one of the easiest to operate and maintain. It is monitored by an automated control system to ensure a consistent standard of water treatment and purification that comply with the Stage 2-DBP and LT2-enhanced surface water treatment rules. Labor time at the plant has also decreased dramatically due to the ease of operation.

Certified by NSF International

“The new water treatment facility at Brookville treats 1.5 million gallons of water every day and provides new levels of water treatment to the area,” adds Christopher Chen, Director of The PENETRON Group. “PENETRON crystalline technology, certified by NSF for use with potable water, played a key role in the effectiveness of the new purification technology.”

The $12.5 million construction project included the following concrete structures:

  • New reinforced concrete intake structure, including two 12-inch diameter intake screens (with air purge system) and a wet well
  • Baffled inlet, raw water and rectangular sedimentation tanks with mechanical sludge collectors
  • Filtrate waste storage/recycle tank, sludge drying beds and finish water pumping tanks (centrifugal)
  • Central control building, including chemical feed and storage systems, control room/laboratory, conference rooms, garage, and offices

Permanent Protection

PENETRON, PENECRETE MORTAR and PENEPLUG were used for the sedimentation channels and the main concrete structures, and tanks built for the North Fork Creek plant were treated with PENETRON ADMIX. The concrete is now waterproof and any leakage of the treated water supply to surrounding ground water and streams has been eliminated.

“PENETRON is part of the solution,” explains Chen. “Our crystalline technology successfully sealed the concrete cracks that developed during and after construction at Brookville.”

Construction of the concrete foundation included PENETRON ADMIX, which is certified by NSF International for use with potable water.


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