Munich, Germany -- Siemens is expanding its activities in the rapidly growing market for water treatment and supply. As an important step in this strategy, the Industrial Solutions and Services Group (I&S) is acquiring the worldwide systems and services businesses of the US market leader, US Filter Corporation. The purchase price for the company - which employs around 5,800 individuals and has annual sales of some $1.2 billion- amounted to $993 million.

A definitive agreement among Siemens and the French parent company Veolia Environnement, Paris, has now been reached. The transaction, which is expected to close before the end of September, is subject only to applicable regulatory approvals.

US Filter is headquartered in Palm Desert (CA) and Houston (TX) and consists of around 120 locations worldwide. It is the leading provider of municipal and industrial water treatment products and services in the North American market. The worldwide market for water treatment and supply as well as industrial wastewater treatment has a total annual volume of €290 billion. The industry’s size, coupled with an annual growth rate of more than six percent, makes it a particularly appealing business segment. The primary markets are in the United States and Europe.

For municipalities and industrial companies, water supply and treatment are critical topics for the 21st Century. Water belongs to the strategically significant and cross-Group areas in which Siemens is already well-positioned. The main activities are concentrated within the Groups Automation and Drives (A&D) and I&S. The I&S Group has the lead management for the water-related business. US Filter’s activities will also be organizationally led by this Group. The headquarter of the new I&S Group company will remain in Palm Desert.

I&S Group President Joergen Ole Haslestad said: “This acquisition is an important step in the framework of strengthening our Group portfolio. The growing water business will play a critical role within our industrial activities at Siemens. With it, we will be able to expand our product and service offerings for our customers, in particular within the world’s largest water market, the USA.”

Henri Proglio, Chairman of Veolia Environnement, said: “The sale of US Filter Corporation’s systems and services businesses generated significant interest from both strategic and financial investors. We found Siemens’ offer very convincing from all points of view: industrial, financial and strategic. This transaction will preserve the future and growth of these businesses and their teams, while providing attractive prospects for industrial and commercial cooperation with an important European group.”

The Siemens Industrial Solutions and Services Group (I&S) provides innovative solutions and services designed to improve competitiveness in processing and manufacturing industries and in infrastructure. Offerings cover the entire life cycle of industrial and infrastructure facilities, from consulting and planning through installation, operation, integration of MES-solutions, maintenance and modernization. In fiscal 2003 (to September 30) I&S employed a total of 25.000 people worldwide and achieved total sales of EUR 4.012 billion.

Source: http://www.siemens.com/

Stormwater : New Electrocoagulation System Introduced for Industrial Markets

PORTLAND, OR -- Stormwater Management, Inc., the leader in the stormwater treatment industry, announces the new Stormwater Management Electrocoagulation System, its electrocoagulation water processing system for industrial, marine, transportation, and other applications with a high concentration of contaminants. The EC System uses controlled electrical current to remove multiple contaminants from industrial wastewater, washwater, and stormwater, in many cases eliminating the need for chemicals and significantly reducing power demand and operator attention.

The EC System is a programmed technology that is monitored and maintained by an onboard control system, reducing operator time by nearly 95 percent. Unlike mechanical and chemical systems that need to be monitored, adjusted, and maintained around the clock, operators of the EC System need only make routine checks once or twice a day.

The new Stormwater Management system draws only a minimal amount of power -- approximate 15 amps on a 230V 3-phase circuit at 5 gpm -- significantly less than mechanical systems. Computer control and minimal components make the system reliable and simple to maintain.

"We are pleased to offer those responsible for storm- and wastewater treatment a replacement for chemical and mechanical systems that cleans water for re-use and meets or exceeds discharge requirements," said David Pollock, CEO of Stormwater Management, Inc. "Our electrocoagulation system also significantly reduces operating costs, making it an ideal option for industrial applications."

The quality of the treated water is up to ten times better than that of mechanical systems, and nearly 100 percent of the cleaned water can be recycled. In washwater treatment or wash rack applications, the detergents and soaps remain in the water for re-use.

The EC System meets all discharge requirements under the NPDES regulations in a number of industry applications, especially where the particles being filtered are either so small that they would pass through a typical filtration system, or so numerous that they would overwhelm the system. These applications include transportation equipment cleaning, wood treating, quench water recycling and marine applications such as hydroblasting, bilgewater treatment and hull washing.

Stormwater Management's new industrial system separates oily wastewater, emulsified oils, suspended solids, total petroleum hydrocarbons (TPH) and heavy metals. It can be used in conjunction with other systems, such as the Stormwater Management StormFilter(R), to treat "hot spots" in applications where greater quantities of contaminated water must be managed.

For a typical installation, the EC System comes in a pre-packaged intermodal cargo container that sits above ground, and is located inside or outside the facility. The system can also be equipped with an optional telemetry system for remote monitoring and performance diagnostics. Maintenance operations, such as periodic replacement of the electrolytic plates can be performed easily by maintenance personnel, while more in-depth diagnostic questions can be answered via phone by Stormwater's customer service representatives.

For more information on the EC System, please visit www.stormwaterinc.com/EC/ECLaunch.shtml  or call 800-548-4667.

Source: http://www.stormwaterinc.com/

Munich, Germany -- Germany’s largest UV water disinfection system is to be built at the Gut Marienhof waste water treatment plant in Munich. The system is scheduled to be installed in the spring of 2005 and to start operation in the summer of the same year. The Gut Marienhof WWTP, located to the north of Munich, has been in operation since 1989 and is designed to serve a population equivalent of 1 million. After undergoing thorough biological and physical treatment, the wastewater is discharged into the "Middle Isar". The UV system will disinfect the wastewater during the summer months from 15 April to 30 September and will be switched off over the winter.

During the summer, the Isar valley serves as an important recreational area. This is especially true of the "Upper Isar", between the Sylvenstein reservoir in the south and the Bavarian capital city of Munich in the north. In the past, high bacterial concentrations and values in excess of the microbiological guideline and limit values defined in the EU Bathing Water Directive have been measured in this area.

Bathers may be at risk. For this reason, bathing is officially forbidden in many stretches of the Isar. In other words, the Isar is not approved as a bathing area. In the mid 1990s, therefore, the Bavarian state government launched the “Improving the bathing water quality of the Upper Isar” project. This initiative was unique of its kind in Germany and Europe, and involved improving the biological water quality of the Isar and the Loisach through the targeted disinfection of the wastewater of the neighboring municipalities. The objective was to enable the Isar to be used as a bathing area in conformity with the EU Bathing Water Directive.

The implementation of this ambitious environmental project required an investment of 5.03 million euros for sand filters and UV wastewater disinfection systems [1] in the six neighboring municipalities so far involved – Lenggries, Bad Tцlz, Wolfratshausen, Schдrftlarn, Penzberg and Benediktbeuern/Bichl. Around 2.9 million euros of the UV investment costs were borne by the Bavarian state. The investment is now paying off. According to the Bavarian Water Management Agency (Landesamt fьr Wasserwirtschaft), there has been a marked improvement in the quality of the water in the upper Isar and the Loisach in the summer months, i.e. in the months when the UV systems are in operation.

The "Upper Isar" project is now being followed up by the installation of a large UV disinfection system at the Munich WWTP. In the "Middle Isar" area, i.e. below Munich, another four municipalities are now in the concrete planning phase. The Bavarian state is also subsidizing this follow-up project. A total of 4.5 million euros has been made available within the framework of a special support program.

The ceremony of laying the foundation stone for the building measures took place today in the presence of Munich’s Mayor Hep Monatzeder, representatives of the Bavarian Office for Water Management and dignitaries from the neighboring municipalities.

Wastewater disinfection takes place at the Gut Marienhof WWTP in a total of six concrete channels in which almost 1,300 UV low-pressure Spektrotherm® HP lamps are installed. The Spektrotherm® low-pressure lamps are arranged in two banks and nine modules. The maximum wastewater flow is 21,600 mі/h of wastewater with a transmission level of at least 70%. The UV irradiation of the treated wastewater will keep the residual bacterial counts well below the guideline values of the EU Bathing Water Directive.

The lamps emit a UV dose of 450 J/mІ. Consulting engineers Schlegel GmbH & Co. KG are responsible for the realization. The company has already carried out a number of projects for the installation of UV disinfection stages in the sewage treatment plants of the neighboring municipalities of the "Upper Isar".

Source: http://www.wedecouv.de

. New ABS Pump Selection & Planning Software                         ABS Pumps introduces the new pump selection and planning software ABScomm. The program was specifically designed for the configuration of products of ABS’ building services.

EPA Signs Research Agreements to Develop Early Warning Detection Devices for U.S. Water Systems
To protect the U.S. drinking water supply, EPA is joining in research agreements with YSI, Inc., PureSense Environmental, Inc., and Hach Company to develop early warning detection devices for water distribution systems.
 

Weekly Update #31 : Iraq Reconstruction - 5/11/04                    Iraqi government officials are including environmental planning in the design and implementation of projects. The officials will encourage attention to environmental effects of the national reconstruction activities.

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People post their requests for help and offer their suggestions to others in our open forum.

Mr. Clement wants to SBR-replacement technologies:

I would appreciate if anyone could share with me some of the new processes or technologies to replace SBR ( Sequential Batch Reactor).  We are considering of upgrading our facilities due plant expansion. Our waste stream is pharmaceutical waste products.  (Click here to post a reply)

Thank you,
David Clement
ENERPLUS
cmlau@aiplus.com.sg

Mr. Ghatpande wants help with his greensand filter:

We are currently using a Greensand filter (With Anthracite on the top) after Ozonation. The purpose is to remove any Mn so that no permanganate will be produced with the availability of Ozone.

The raw water Mn is about 0.164 mg/l. After the use of Greensand filter, we expected the level to be very low. Instead we found that the level in the effluent was higher than in the influent above the detection limit (> 0.8 mg/l). We checked up the pH of the raw water to see if it well below to allow the leaching of Mn from the filter, but; the pH is around 8.0.

This filter was used for Mn removal from ground water in past and has been sitting for at least a few months. the filter was backwashed before use. But; I do not understand the reason for high Mn level in the effluent than in the influent. There is a possibility that filter media is destroyed and we need to replace it, but; before we do that I would like to check up if there are any other possible reasons for this strange behavior.

Any similar experience or ideas, comments would help!
(Click here to post a reply)

Thank you very much.
Prajakta Ghatpande
p_ghatpande@yahoo.com

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Lead Water Design Engineer - Desalination

Parsons Brinckerhoff (PB), founded in 1885, is one of the oldest continuously operating engineering firms in the world.  We are recognized as a leader in consulting, planning, engineering, program management, construction management and operations and maintenance for all types of infrastructure projects.  PB is employee-owned and there are more than 9,000 of us in 200 offices on six continents, with well over $1.3 billion in annual sales.  For more information on PB, visit our website at http://www.pbworld.com  

PB Water is the water technology division of PB, and provides water engineering services for drainage and flood control, hydraulic structures, hydroelectric facilities, irrigation systems, sedimentation and erosion control, hydrogeology, potable water supply and reclaimed water planning and design, desalination planning & design, and wastewater management.  We specialize in watershed, conveyance, combined sewer overflow, desalination/AWT, Hydrogeology, Microtunneling/Trenchless Technology, and high purity water.

PB Water's San Diego Regional Office has an immediate opening for a Lead Design Engineer to work on existing, newly-won, and future desalination projects.  The position requires a BS degree in a relevant topic, professional licensure in California, and at least fifteen years experience.  The successful candidate will lead the design and specifications for the procurement of a 50 MGD desalination facility at the Ecina Power Plant in Carlsbad, which will be the largest in the Western hemisphere when completed.  The ideal candidate will have experience in the design of advanced water treatment projects, including desalination plants, also experience in project procurement services, particularly DBO projects.  Strong communication, project management and writing skills are also required.  Experience or interest in assistance in marketing water projects is preferred.

For the right individual there is significant potential for growth and advancement.  Our firm offers excellent benefits, a competitive salary, and a professional work environment.  Please send your cover letter and resume in confidence to Joe Alberti, alberti@pbworld.com, Corporate Employment Supervisor, including salary history and daytime phone number.

Parsons Brinckerhoff is an Equal Opportunity Employer, m/f/d/v.

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Also, we would like to welcome Tom Keenan, he will be taking over our weekly column which is now called "Ask Tom!"  If you have article suggestions or would like to contribute an article, email Tom direct at:  info@nesa.ie

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Wastewater Engineering:
Treatment & Reuse
by G. Tchobanoglous, Metcalf & Eddy
Hardcover, 1848 pages, March 2002

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Scaleup and Design of
Industrial Mixing Processes
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Hardcover, 392 pages, April 2003

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Small and Decentralized
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Hardcover, 1104 pages, 1998

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This week's photo is of a Lantec supplied, two-stage system, in Perth, Australia for scrubbing NH3 and H2S. The parallel trains each treat 16,300 Nm3/hr of foul air. With a residence time of 0.9 seconds in the H2S stage a 99%+ efficiency is being achieved. Tower packing is Lantec's Q-PAC.

Photo courtesy of James Eldridge of  Lantec Products, Inc.

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