Isolated rural communities dependent on surface water supplies suffer chronic problems such as coliform and pathogen contamination from violations of Surface Water Treatment Rule (SWTR). One of USEPA’s primary “Science-Related Issues of Importance” is finding low cost options for “Drinking Water Treatment Technologies for Small Communities”.

About 247 public water systems in Puerto Rico use source waters contaminated by human and animal wastes but only about half use chlorination and very few use filtration. The objective of this research project is to investigate solutions for sustainable energy-efficient pretreatment and disinfection for those small rural communities in tropical climates, so they can reduce their risks for waterborne disease and comply with the regulations. This project builds on a long history of working with citizens, community groups, students and volunteers in Non-PRASA communities of Apeadero, La Sofia, El Real and Mulas Jagual.

An issue with filtration system is the potential for the filtration units to plug during high-turbidity events caused by rainfall. Such events can happen unexpectedly and can result in damage that can require significant cleaning and backwashing to return to operational use. The required effort frequently results in the community abandoning the filtration systems and bypassing the water directly to the distribution system thus endangering human health and causing a violation of the SWTR. Systems are generally gravity-fed and there is typically no electrical power or cellular service available. This project designed and implemented a low-cost solar-powered control system that would shutoff the water flow during high-turbidity events as well as provide a means of backwashing a set of gravel prefilters using filtered water. The project is also implementing a notification system that would use a mesh-network system to access the nearest line-of-sight cell phone location to send out text messages when the valves close or open.

Filtration Challenges and Implementation of Solar-Powered Turbidity Control and Backwash Systems to Optimize Drinking Water Treatment and Distribution in Non-PRASA Communities in Puerto Rico

Created in 1999, the Environmental & Water Resources Institute (EWRI) is the recognized leader within ASCE for the integration of technical expertise and public policy in the planning, design, construction, and operation of environmentally sound and sustainable infrastructure impacting air, land and water resources.

[Paper Proceedings](https://doi.org/10.1061/9780784483466)

Conference DOI: https://doi.org/10.26226/m.6329c39b68fb0e00131f77d2