Evaluation of the New Compressible Media Filter at Filtration Rates Between 30 and 40 GPM/FT2 for Unrestricted Water Reuse

As the surface water discharge requirements for treated wastewater effluent become more restrictive, effluent filtration is becoming an integral part of wastewater treatment. Because a high quality effluent is produced after filtration, the potential for reusing treated effluent is being examined by a number of agencies, especially in the southwestern United States where water shortage is more prevalent. In addition, a number of municipalities are interested in wastewater reclamation as a means of augmenting their sources of water supply.In California, before treated wastewater can be reused, water quality criteria, set by the California Department of Public Health Services (CDPH), must be met. Because of the stringent nature of the criteria, effluent filtration has become a critical feature in the implementation of the unrestricted reuse criteria. The CDPH evaluates the available filtration technologies and issues approvals for systems meeting the required performance criteria. The unrestricted reuse criteria, along with criteria for other reuse applications, are set forth in Title 22, Division 4, Chapter 3 of the California Administrative Code (hereafter referred to as Title 22) [California Administration Code, 2010].In previous studies conducted by wastewater agencies, consulting engineers, and at the University of California at Davis, a number of different types of filters have been evaluated for wastewater reclamation applications in California. The purpose of this study was to assess the performance of the compressible medium filtration technology employing a second type of medium (medium B). The filter known as the “Fuzzy Filter” or “Compressible Media Filter” (CMF) was provided by Schreiber LLC (Schreiber).