An essential facility that supplies drinking water to the Sochi district, the new biological water treatment plant in Krasnaya Polyana, Russia was commissioned in July 2020. The Penetron Sochi team of waterproofing specialists successfully completed the repair and waterproofing work under challenging conditions.
Located in the Western Caucasus mountains above the shores of the Black Sea, Krasnaya Polyana is part of the new Rosa Khutor alpine ski resort incorporated into the city of Sochi. It was the site of the Alpine and Nordic events during the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics. The local water treatment plant was recently upgraded through the addition of a biological processing capability to expand and improve treatment of the region’s drinking water.
“Exploiting the actions of bacteria and other microorganisms to clean drinking water may sound straightforward, but it’s a complex – and also mysterious – process based on biology and biochemistry,” explains Igor Chernogolov, President of Penetron Russia. “Depending on the source, water typically contains a lot of organic matter, even waste materials and pathogenic organisms, heavy metals, and toxins. The new Krasnaya Polyana facility relies on bacteria, nematodes, and other organisms to break down these components to clean the water.”
Repair Work Continued Through the Pandemic
Because Vodocanal, the local water supply company, classified the new Sochi biological water treatment plant as an ‘essential service,’ work on the repair and upgrade of the facility continued during the COVID-19 lockdown in the Sochi region earlier this year. The local Penetron team in Sochi carried out all the repair work and final application of the Penetron System products.
The initial stage of the project comprised a thorough cleaning of the concrete surface and routing out and filling of any cracks larger than 0.5mm (1/51”) with PENECRETE MORTAR, a crystalline waterproofing repair grout. In a final step, PENETRON slurry was topically applied to all of the prepared concrete surfaces of the facility’s tanks to provide the much needed waterproofing and protection solution.
Safe for Potable Water Applications
Widely used in drinking water (and wastewater) treatment facilities around the world, Penetron crystalline materials are NSF-61-certified and completely non-toxic (no VOCs), making them suitable and safe for potable water applications. Once applied to a concrete surface, the active ingredients in PENECRETE MORTAR and PENETRON penetrate deep into the concrete to react with moisture in the concrete matrix. This chemical reaction generates an insoluble crystalline formation to permanently seal all cracks, pores, and capillaries. As an integral part of the concrete matrix, the Penetron treatment provides self-healing capabilities for the concrete matrix over the service life of the structure.
“Much like the new biological water treatment technology, the Penetron System is used worldwide because it’s more effective and more economical than many other waterproofing solutions,” adds Igor Chernogolov.
News in Krasnaya Polyana: Bacteria, nematodes, and other organisms help clean the water at the new biological facility where Penetron waterproofed the processing and storage tanks.
