Backwashing these monomedia filters takes only 10 minutes and saves Sioux Falls, South Dakota, an average of 1 million gallons of water per day and approximately $12,000 per year in labor and energy costs.
Operations supervisor Mark Hierholzer of the Sioux Falls Water Reclamation Plant checks the control panel, which makes backwashing automatic via a programmable logic controller. This also allows staff to do the backwash in the evenings during off-peak demand periods when power costs are lower.
It sounds like a jumbo jet revving up its engines for takeoff, but this blower system uses air at 10 to 14 psi to dislodge particles in the monomedia filters and thus requires less water. This means big savings for the City of Sioux Falls.