AWWA MTC57629

Since 1997 more than 25 billion gallons of potable water has been produced for public distribution from the Great Lakes of North America, using microfiltration in a direct filtration mode. There are currently eight treatment plants operating full scale microfiltration systems, three under construction, two in design and many others either piloting or under evaluation. This paper presents the experience of the full-scale operating plants. The Marquette WTP was the first full scale system started on the Great Lakes in September, 1997 with Ashland coming on line in August, 2001. Lexington, South Chatham-Kent and Point Beach were still under construction at the time of this writing so will be included in subsequent updates of this paper. This paper presents concise case studies for each of these plants and a summary of experience developed for each of these projects including process flow description, zebra mussel control strategy, raw and filtered water quality, flux vs chemical cleaning frequency, disinfection practices, and maintenance experience pertaining to both mechanical components and membrane modules. Includes 2 references, tables, figures.