Module 7

WATER SUPPLY AND TREATMENT

Water Treatment

Softening

Hardness
 caused by multivalent cations – Ca2+, Mg2+, Fe2+, Fe3+,
Mn2+, Sr2+, Al3+
 does not cause health problems but reduces the
effectiveness of soaps and causes scale formation

TH   multivalent cations

 determined using atomic absorption and ion-specific

electrodes or titration (titrant – EDTA
ethylendediaminetetraacetic acid; indicator – eriochrome
black)
 units – mg/L or meq/L

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Cq concentration in meq/L
C C concentration in mg/L
Cq 
EW EW equivalent weight in g/eq

MW MW molar weight
EW 
n N ionic charge

CCaCO3  Cq x 50 CCaCO3 concentration in mg/L as CaCO3

Cq concentration in meq/L

The concentration of calcium in a water sample is 100

mg/L. What is the concentration in meq/L? in mg/L as
CaCO3?
SP4
A water sample contains 60 mg/L of calcium, 60 mg/L of
magnesium and 25 mg/L of sodium. What is the total
hardness in meq/L and in mg/L as calcium carbonate?
SP5
Total Hardness

TH  CN  NCH

Carbonate (Temporary) Hardness

 associated with the anions carbonate, CO32- and
bicarbonate, HCO3-
 forms scale
 equal to the smaller of alkalinity or total hardness

Noncarbonate (Permanent) Hardness

 associated with the other anions, SO42- etc.

Table 9.2 Water Hardness Classifications (P211)

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Hardness
Classification
meq/L mg/L CaCO3
Extremely soft to soft 0 – 0.9 0 – 45
Soft to moderately hard 0.9 – 1.8 46 – 90
Moderately hard to hard 1.8 – 2.6 91 – 130
Hard to very hard 2.6 – 3.4 131 – 170
Very hard to excessively hard 3.4 – 5.0 171 – 250
Too hard for domestic use > 5.0 > 250

Alkalinity
 measure of the buffering capacity of water

Alkalinity ,mg / L  HCO3  2CO32   OH   H 

Alkalinity ,meq / L  HCO3  CO32   OH   H 

From the following water analysis, determine the total

hardness, carbonate hardness and noncarbonate
hardness in mg/L as CaCO3.
SP6
CO2 6.0 mg/L
Ca2+ 50.0 mg/L
Mg 2+
20.0 mg/L
Na +
5.0 mg/L
Alkalinity 120 mg/L as CaCO3
SO42- 94.0 mg/L
pH 7.3

Hardness Speciation
 TH (sum of multivalent cations)
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WATER SUPPLY AND TREATMENT

 ALK (typically bicarbonate concentration)

 CH (if ALK<TH, CH=ALK; else CH=TH)
 NCH = TH – CH
 CCH (if Ca2+<CH, CCH=Ca2+; else CCH=CH)
 CNCH (Ca2+ - CCH)
 MCH (CH – CCH)
 MNCH (Mg2+ - MCH)

Check
 CH = CCH + MCH
 NCH = CNCH + MNCH
 TH = CCH + CNCH + MCH + MNCH

From the previous water analysis, construct a bar chart

to determine the speciation of the hardness.

SP7

Ion Exchange

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 appropriate for waters with high noncarbonate

hardness and total hardness less than 350 mg/L as CaCO3
 column containing a resin
 100% hardness removal thus the need for bypass

Breakthrough – occurs when the effluent concentration equals

the influent concentration

Breakthrou gh 
 capacity  vre sin 
 QIX  TH 
A residential water softener has 0.07 m3 of ion exchange
resin with an exchange capacity of 46 kg/m3. The
occupants use 1500 L of water daily. If the water
SP8 contains 245 mg/L of hardness as CaCO and they want
3
to soften it to 100 mg/L as CaCO3, how much water
should bypass the softener and what is the time
between regeneration cycles?

Chemical Precipitation
 pH increase
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WATER SUPPLY AND TREATMENT

 CH – lime
 NCH – soda ash

Lime-Soda Softening Reactions

Softening Treatment

Using the following data, determine the stoichiometric

amount of chemicals required to soften the water to the
solubility limits if the flow rate is 5 mgd and 95% pure
SP9 quicklime and 95% pure soda ash are used.
CO2 6.0 mg/L
Ca2+ 50.0 mg/L
Mg 2+
20.0 mg/L
Na +
5.0 mg/L
Engr. Elisa G. Eleazar
Alkalinity 120 mg/L as CaCO3 6 of 14
SO 4
2-
94.0 mg/L
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WATER SUPPLY AND TREATMENT

Coagulation and Flocculation

Turbidity – caused by tiny clay and silt particles

Coagulation
 chemical alteration of the colloidal particles to make
them stick together to form large particles (flocs)
 coagulant: alum (aluminum sulfate)
 coagulant aids: lime and polymers
 mechanism:
 charge neutralization – coagulant is used to
counter the charges on the colloidal particles
 bridging – colloidal particles stick together by
virtue of the macromolecules formed by the coagulant

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Flocculation
 physical process of producing differential velocities so
that the particles can come into contact

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WATER SUPPLY AND TREATMENT

Settling

 Variables:
 particle size
 particle shape
 particle density
 fluid density
 fluid viscosity

Table 9.3 Typical Settling Rates (P226)

Particle Dia, mm Typical Particle Settling Vel, m/s
1.0 Sand 2 x 10-1
0.1 Fine Sand 1 x 10-2
0.01 Silt 1 x 10-4
0.001 Clay 1 x 10-6

Ideal Settling Tank

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Assumptions:
 Uniform flow occurs within the settling tank
 All particles settling to the bottom are removed
 Particles are evenly distributed in the flow as they
enter the settling tank
 All particles still suspended in the water when the
column of water reaches the far side of the tank are not
removed and escape the tank

Critical Particles – particles with lower settling velocities are not

all removed and particles with higher settling velocities are all
removed
V t hydraulic retention, detention time
t V volume
Q Q volumetric flow rate

Q
vo 
As
H
vo 
t

A wastewater treatment plant settling tank has an

overflow rate of 600 gal/day-ft2 and a depth of 6 ft.
What is the retention time?
SP10
A small water plant has a raw water inflow rate of 0.6
m3/s. Laboratory studies have shown that the
flocculated slurry can be expected to have a uniform
SP11 particle size and it has been found through
experimentation that all the particles settle at a rate of
0.004 m/s. A proposed rectangular settling tank has an
effective settling zone of L=20 m, H=3 m and W=6 m.
Could 100% removal be expected? What fraction of the
particles will be removed?
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Filtration

What is the filtration rate for a 25-ft by 20-ft filter if it

receives 2 mgd?

SP12
How much backwash water is required to clean the filter
in SP12? Assume 20 gpm/ft2 will be used and the filters
will be cleaned for 15 minutes.
SP13

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Disinfection

Objective
 to destroy the remaining pathogens

Chlorination
 addition of chlorine in water
 formaton of HOCl
 formation of chloramines due to reaction with ammonia
or organic nitrogen

A 4.5 mgd water treatment plant uses 21 lb/day of

chlorine for disinfection. If the daily chlorine demand is
0.5 mg/L, what is the daily chlorine residual?
SP14

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Other Treatment Processes

Water Stability
 Marble Test and Langelier Index – calcium carbonate
saturation
 Stabilization:
 Recarbonation
 Acid addition
 Phosphate addition
 Alkali addition
 Aeration

Taste and Odor

 Aeration

Fluoridation

Distribution of Water

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Exercise No. 7
1. An unconfined aquifer is 10 m thick and is being pumped
so that one observation well placed at a distance of 76 m
shows a drawdown of 0.5 m. On the opposite side of the
extraction well is another observation well, 100 m from the
extraction well, and this well shows a drawdown of 0.3 m.
Assume the coefficient of permeability is 50 m/day. What is
the discharge of the extraction well?

2. A settling tank is 20 m long, 10 m deep and 10 m wide.

The flow rate to the tank is 10 m3/minute. The particles to be
removed all have a settling velocity of 0.1 m/minute. What is
the hydraulic retention time? Will all the particles be
removed?

3. Calculate the alkalinity, total hardness, carbonate

hardness, and noncarbonate hardness for the following water
in mg/L as CaCO3.

Cations mg/L Anions mg/L

Ca2+ 12 HCO3- 75
Mg2+ 15 SO42- 41
Sr2+ 3 Cl- 25
Na+ 15 NO3- 10
K+ 15 pH 7.8

4. Using the data in No. 3, determine the speciation and the

stoichiometric amount of chemicals required to soften the
water to the solubility limits if the flow rate is 5 mgd and 95%
pure quicklime and 95% pure soda ash are used.

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