Abstract This study was aimed at introducing multistage filtration (MSF) (a combination of slow-sand filtration (SSF) and pretreatment system - horizontal flow roughing filter (HRF)) as an alternative water treatment technology to the conventional one. A pilot- plant study was undertaken to achieve this goal. Evaluating the MSF performance vs. the existing conventional system in removing selected physical and chemical drinking water quality parameters together with the biological water quality improvement by the MSF without chemical use was done. Evaluation of the effectiveness of the MSF system utilizing locally available material, i.e. gravel, improved agricultural waste (charcoal maize cobs) and broken burnt bricks as pretreatment filter material was also done The benchmark was the Kenya Bureau of Standards (KEBS) values for the selected parameters. Results showed that with proper design specifications, MSF systems perform better than conventional systems under similar conditions of raw water quality and environmental conditions. The tested locally available materials can also be effectively used as pretreatment media with each allowing a filter run greater than 82 d and therefore could serve as alternatives where natural gravel is not readily available. With special reference to the bacteriological quality improvement, the MSF greatly improved the bacteriological quality of the water recording removal efficiencies of over 99% and 98% respectively for E. coli and total coliforms. Despite the observed performance, MSF should be complemented with chlorination as a final buffer against water-borne diseases. However, in this case, the dosing will be greatly reduced when compared to the conventional system.

Slow sand filtration is a proven and sustainable technology for drinking water treatment in small communities. The process, however, is sensitive to lower water temperatures that can lead to decreased biological treatment, and high raw water turbidity levels that can lead to premature clogging of the filter and frequent cleaning requirements, resulting in increased risk of pathogen breakthrough. Multistage filtration, consisting of roughing filtration followed by slow sand filtration, can overcome these treatment limitations and provide a robust treatment alternative for surface water sources of variable water quality in northern climates, which typically experience water temperatures ranging down to 2&deg;C. Prior to this study, however, multistage filtration had yet to be systematically challenged in colder climates, including testing of its performance under increased hydraulic loadings and elevated influent turbidity together with cold water conditions. The primary goal of this research was to demonstrate the reliability of multistage filtration for small communities in northern climates with reference to the Ontario Safe Drinking Water Act. In this research, testing was conducted on two different pilot multistage filtration systems and fed with water from the Grand River, a municipally and agriculturally impacted river in Southern Ontario. One system featured pre-ozonation and post-granular activated carbon (GAC) stages, and shallower bed depths in the roughing filter and slow sand filter. The other system featured deeper bed depths in the roughing filter and slow sand filter, two parallel roughing filters of different design for comparison, and a second stage of slow sand filtration for increased robustness. Removal of turbidity, total coliforms, and fecal coliforms under a range of influent turbidities (1 to >100 NTU), water temperatures (~2 to 20&deg;C), and hydraulic loading rates (0. 2 to 0. 8 m/h) were investigated. In addition, the slow sand filters in each pilot system were challenged with high concentrations (~10⁶ oocyst/L) of inactivated <i>Cryptosporidium parvum</i> oocysts. The performance of both pilot multistage filtration systems was highly dependent on the biological maturity of the system and its hydraulic loading rate. In a less mature system operating in cold water conditions (<5&deg;C), effluent turbidity was mostly below 0. 5 NTU during periods of stable influent turbidity (no runoff events) and a hydraulic loading of 0. 4 m/h, however, runoff events of high influent turbidity (>50 NTU), increased hydraulic loadings (0. 6 m/h), and filter cleaning occasionally resulted in effluent turbidity above 1 NTU. Furthermore, in a less mature system operating during runoff events of high turbidity, reducing the hydraulic loading rate to 0. 2 m/h was important for achieving effluent turbidity below 1 NTU. However, in a more mature system operating in warm water conditions (19-22&deg;C), effluent turbidity was consistently below 0. 3 NTU at a hydraulic loading rate of 0. 4 m/h, and below 0. 5 NTU at 0. 8 m/h, despite numerous events of high influent turbidity (>25 NTU). It remains to be seen whether this performance could be sustained in colder water temperatures with a fully mature filter. Removal of coliform bacteria was occasionally incomplete in a less mature multistage system, whereas, in a more mature system operating in warm water conditions (>9&deg;C), removal was complete in all measurements. Furthermore, the average removal of <i>Cryptosporidium</i> was greater than 2. 5 logs in both systems (with hydraulic loading rates ranging from 0. 4 to 0. 8 m/h) and improved with increased filter maturity. Each individual stage of the multistage system was an important treatment barrier in the overall process of turbidity and pathogen removal. The roughing filter was not only important for protecting the slow sand filter from solids loading and increasing its run length, but was also a significant contributor to coliform removal when the system was less mature. Removal of turbidity was significantly improved when the roughing filter was more mature, suggesting that biological treatment was an important treatment mechanism in the roughing filter. Although pre-ozonation was used mainly for the removal of organic carbon and colour, it achieved complete removal of coliform bacteria and was also suspected to be important for enhanced removal of turbidity. The second slow sand filter in series provided additional robustness to the process by reducing effluent turbidity to below 1 NTU during cold water runoff events of high turbidity and increased hydraulic loadings (0. 6 m/h), while achieving effluent below 0. 3 NTU during normal periods of operation. It also provided additional removals of coliforms under challenging operating conditions, and contributed an additional average removal of <i>Cryptosporidium</i> of 0. 8 logs, which resulted in cumulative removal of 3. 7 logs, approximately 1 log greater than all the other challenge tests. Collectively, the entire multistage system performed well with water temperatures ranging down to 2&deg;C, limited filter maturity, elevated raw water turbidities, and increased hydraulic loading rates. Its ability to meet the current Ontario turbidity regulations and greater than 2 log removal of <i>Cryptosporidium</i> over a range of operating conditions, with little or no process adjustment, is a testament to the robustness and minimal maintenance requirements of the process, which are desirable attributes for small water systems that are often located in rural areas. While this research demonstrated the performance of multistage filtration using pilot scale testing, it is important to note that full-scale plants tend to produce significantly better results than pilot facilities, due to long term biological maturation of the system. Overall, multistage filtration is a sustainable and cost-effective technology that, through this research, appears to be a safe, reliable, and robust treatment alternative for small and non-municipal water systems in North America and the developing world. Further, based on its performance with challenging influent water quality and cold water conditions, multistage filtration holds particular promise for small communities in northern climates that are required to meet safe drinking water regulations, but are dependent on surface water sources of variable water quality and temperatures.

Slow sand filtration is a proven and sustainable technology for drinking water treatment in small communities. The process, however, is sensitive to lower water temperatures that can lead to decreased biological treatment, and high raw water turbidity levels that can lead to premature clogging of the filter and frequent cleaning requirements, resulting in increased risk of pathogen breakthrough. Multistage filtration, consisting of roughing filtration followed by slow sand filtration, can overcome these treatment limitations and provide a robust treatment alternative for surface water sources of variable water quality in northern climates, which typically experience water temperatures ranging down to 2&deg;C. Prior to this study, however, multistage filtration had yet to be systematically challenged in colder climates, including testing of its performance under increased hydraulic loadings and elevated influent turbidity together with cold water conditions. The primary goal of this research was to demonstrate the reliability of multistage filtration for small communities in northern climates with reference to the Ontario Safe Drinking Water Act. In this research, testing was conducted on two different pilot multistage filtration systems and fed with water from the Grand River, a municipally and agriculturally impacted river in Southern Ontario. One system featured pre-ozonation and post-granular activated carbon (GAC) stages, and shallower bed depths in the roughing filter and slow sand filter. The other system featured deeper bed depths in the roughing filter and slow sand filter, two parallel roughing filters of different design for comparison, and a second stage of slow sand filtration for increased robustness. Removal of turbidity, total coliforms, and fecal coliforms under a range of influent turbidities (1 to >100 NTU), water temperatures (~2 to 20&deg;C), and hydraulic loading rates (0. 2 to 0. 8 m/h) were investigated. In addition, the slow sand filters in each pilot system were challenged with high concentrations (~10⁶ oocyst/L) of inactivated <i>Cryptosporidium parvum</i> oocysts. The performance of both pilot multistage filtration systems was highly dependent on the biological maturity of the system and its hydraulic loading rate. In a less mature system operating in cold water conditions (<5&deg;C), effluent turbidity was mostly below 0. 5 NTU during periods of stable influent turbidity (no runoff events) and a hydraulic loading of 0. 4 m/h, however, runoff events of high influent turbidity (>50 NTU), increased hydraulic loadings (0. 6 m/h), and filter cleaning occasionally resulted in effluent turbidity above 1 NTU. Furthermore, in a less mature system operating during runoff events of high turbidity, reducing the hydraulic loading rate to 0. 2 m/h was important for achieving effluent turbidity below 1 NTU. However, in a more mature system operating in warm water conditions (19-22&deg;C), effluent turbidity was consistently below 0. 3 NTU at a hydraulic loading rate of 0. 4 m/h, and below 0. 5 NTU at 0. 8 m/h, despite numerous events of high influent turbidity (>25 NTU). It remains to be seen whether this performance could be sustained in colder water temperatures with a fully mature filter. Removal of coliform bacteria was occasionally incomplete in a less mature multistage system, whereas, in a more mature system operating in warm water conditions (>9&deg;C), removal was complete in all measurements. Furthermore, the average removal of <i>Cryptosporidium</i> was greater than 2. 5 logs in both systems (with hydraulic loading rates ranging from 0. 4 to 0. 8 m/h) and improved with increased filter maturity. Each individual stage of the multistage system was an important treatment barrier in the overall process of turbidity and pathogen removal. The roughing filter was not only important for protecting the slow sand filter from solids loading and increasing its run length, but was also a significant contributor to coliform removal when the system was less mature. Removal of turbidity was significantly improved when the roughing filter was more mature, suggesting that biological treatment was an important treatment mechanism in the roughing filter. Although pre-ozonation was used mainly for the removal of organic carbon and colour, it achieved complete removal of coliform bacteria and was also suspected to be important for enhanced removal of turbidity. The second slow sand filter in series provided additional robustness to the process by reducing effluent turbidity to below 1 NTU during cold water runoff events of high turbidity and increased hydraulic loadings (0. 6 m/h), while achieving effluent below 0. 3 NTU during normal periods of operation. It also provided additional removals of coliforms under challenging operating conditions, and contributed an additional average removal of <i>Cryptosporidium</i> of 0. 8 logs, which resulted in cumulative removal of 3. 7 logs, approximately 1 log greater than all the other challenge tests. Collectively, the entire multistage system performed well with water temperatures ranging down to 2&deg;C, limited filter maturity, elevated raw water turbidities, and increased hydraulic loading rates. Its ability to meet the current Ontario turbidity regulations and greater than 2 log removal of <i>Cryptosporidium</i> over a range of operating conditions, with little or no process adjustment, is a testament to the robustness and minimal maintenance requirements of the process, which are desirable attributes for small water systems that are often located in rural areas. While this research demonstrated the performance of multistage filtration using pilot scale testing, it is important to note that full-scale plants tend to produce significantly better results than pilot facilities, due to long term biological maturation of the system. Overall, multistage filtration is a sustainable and cost-effective technology that, through this research, appears to be a safe, reliable, and robust treatment alternative for small and non-municipal water systems in North America and the developing world. Further, based on its performance with challenging influent water quality and cold water conditions, multistage filtration holds particular promise for small communities in northern climates that are required to meet safe drinking water regulations, but are dependent on surface water sources of variable water quality and temperatures.

No presente trabalho foi investigada a remoção de substâncias húmicas na Filtração em Mútiplas Etapas - FiME, com aplicação de ozônio antecedendo o processo de filtração lenta. A instalação piloto era constituída de um pré-filtro dinâmico operado com taxa de 18 m/dia, um pré-filtro de escoamento vertical ascendente operado com taxa de 12 m/dia e dois filtros lentos trabalhando com taxas de filtração iguais a 4 m/dia, com diferentes composições dos leitos filtrantes, sendo um somente de areia e o outro de areia e carvão ativado granular disposto como camada \"sanduíche\" entre duas camadas de areia, e sistema de ozonização. Foi injetada solução de substância húmica na água efluente do pré-filtro vertical ascendente, preparada a partir da turfa retirada de uma área localizada no município de Luís Antônio, para proporcionar aumento de cor verdadeira na água. A eficiência das unidades filtrantes, na remoção de matéria orgânica foi avaliada pela determinação de cor verdadeira, carbono orgânico dissolvido, absorvância a 254 nm e oxigênio consumido. O resultados obtidos mostraram que o filtro lento 1, com carvão ativado, foi superior na remoção de matéria orgânica nas duas carreiras desenvolvidas e que não houve diferença entre os filtros lentos quanto a remoção de Escherichia coli, bactérias heterotróficas, sólidos suspensos totais e ferro total. Fortes correlações entre cor verdadeira e absorvância foram identificadas na carreiras de filtração. O mesmo ocorreu só na carreira 3 entre carbono orgânico dissolvido e absorvância e entre COD e oxigênio consumido. / The current research was carried out investigate the removal of humic substances in the multistage filtration system - MSF, with ozone application upstream slow sand filters. The pilot plant was compose by one dynamic roughing filter operated at a filtration rate of 18 m/day, one upflow roughing filter with filtration rate of 12 m/day and two slow sand filters, both operated with filtration rate of 4 m/day, with different \"filtering beds\"; one with sand only and another with sand and granular activated carbon, disposed as a \"sandwich\" layer between two sand layers, and the ozonation system. Solution of humic substance was injected in the effluent water from the upflow roughing filter, which was prepared using turf extracted from Luís Antônio County, to provide a raise in the real color of the water. The efficiency of the filtering units in the remotion of organic matter was evaluated by using the following parameters: true color, dissolved organic carbon, Uv - absorbance at 254 nm and the consumed oxygen. The results show that the slow sand filter 1, with activated carbon, was better for the removal of organic matter in the two runs carried out and that there were no differences between the slow sand filters in the removal of Escheyichia Coli, heteroph bacteria, total suspended solids. Strong correlation between true color and UV - absorbance was identified in run 1. The same occurred in run 3, relating the dissolved organic carbon and UV - absorbance and between DOC and consumed oxygen.

No presente trabalho foi investigada a remoção de substâncias húmicas na Filtração em Mútiplas Etapas - FiME, com aplicação de ozônio antecedendo o processo de filtração lenta. A instalação piloto era constituída de um pré-filtro dinâmico operado com taxa de 18 m/dia, um pré-filtro de escoamento vertical ascendente operado com taxa de 12 m/dia e dois filtros lentos trabalhando com taxas de filtração iguais a 4 m/dia, com diferentes composições dos leitos filtrantes, sendo um somente de areia e o outro de areia e carvão ativado granular disposto como camada \"sanduíche\" entre duas camadas de areia, e sistema de ozonização. Foi injetada solução de substância húmica na água efluente do pré-filtro vertical ascendente, preparada a partir da turfa retirada de uma área localizada no município de Luís Antônio, para proporcionar aumento de cor verdadeira na água. A eficiência das unidades filtrantes, na remoção de matéria orgânica foi avaliada pela determinação de cor verdadeira, carbono orgânico dissolvido, absorvância a 254 nm e oxigênio consumido. O resultados obtidos mostraram que o filtro lento 1, com carvão ativado, foi superior na remoção de matéria orgânica nas duas carreiras desenvolvidas e que não houve diferença entre os filtros lentos quanto a remoção de Escherichia coli, bactérias heterotróficas, sólidos suspensos totais e ferro total. Fortes correlações entre cor verdadeira e absorvância foram identificadas na carreiras de filtração. O mesmo ocorreu só na carreira 3 entre carbono orgânico dissolvido e absorvância e entre COD e oxigênio consumido. / The current research was carried out investigate the removal of humic substances in the multistage filtration system - MSF, with ozone application upstream slow sand filters. The pilot plant was compose by one dynamic roughing filter operated at a filtration rate of 18 m/day, one upflow roughing filter with filtration rate of 12 m/day and two slow sand filters, both operated with filtration rate of 4 m/day, with different \"filtering beds\"; one with sand only and another with sand and granular activated carbon, disposed as a \"sandwich\" layer between two sand layers, and the ozonation system. Solution of humic substance was injected in the effluent water from the upflow roughing filter, which was prepared using turf extracted from Luís Antônio County, to provide a raise in the real color of the water. The efficiency of the filtering units in the remotion of organic matter was evaluated by using the following parameters: true color, dissolved organic carbon, Uv - absorbance at 254 nm and the consumed oxygen. The results show that the slow sand filter 1, with activated carbon, was better for the removal of organic matter in the two runs carried out and that there were no differences between the slow sand filters in the removal of Escheyichia Coli, heteroph bacteria, total suspended solids. Strong correlation between true color and UV - absorbance was identified in run 1. The same occurred in run 3, relating the dissolved organic carbon and UV - absorbance and between DOC and consumed oxygen.