Impact of an Extreme Winter Storm Event on the Coagulation/Flocculation Processes in a Prototype Surface Water Treatment Plant: Causes and Mitigating Measures

Abstract

Climate change has often caused failure in water treatment operations. In this study, we report a real case study at a major surface water treatment plant in Alabama, USA. Following a severe winter storm, the effluent water turbidity surged to >15.00 Nephelometric Turbidity Units (NTU), far exceeding the 0.30 NTU standard. As a result, the plant operation had to be shut down for three days, causing millions of dollars of losses and affecting tens of thousands of people. Systematic jar tests were carried out with sediment samples from 22 upstream locations. The coagulation and settleability of sediment particles were tested under simulated storm weather conditions, i.e., low temperature (7 °C) and in the presence of various types and concentrations of natural organic matter (NOM) that was extracted from the local sediments. Experimental results proved that elevated NOM (6.14 mg·L−1 as Total Organic Carbon, TOC) in raw water was the root cause for the failure of the plant while the low temperature played a minor but significant role. Pre-oxidation with permanganate and/or elevated coagulant dosage were found effective to remove TOC in raw water and to prevent similar treatment failure. Moreover, we recommend that chemical dosages should be adjusted based on the TOC level in raw water, and a reference dosage of 0.29 kg-NaMnO4/kg-TOC and 19 kg- polyaluminum chloride (PACl) /kg-TOC would be appropriate to cope with future storm water impacts. To facilitate timely adjustment of the chemical dosages, the real time key water quality parameters should be monitored, such as turbidity, TOC, Ultraviolet (UV) absorbance, pH, and color. The findings can guide other treatment operators to deal with shock changes in the raw water quality resulting from severe weather or other operating conditions.