AWWA MTC57660

Pilot testing of five microfiltration and ultrafiltration membrane systems and a conventional multi-media filtration system is being conducted in concert with seawater reverse osmosis membrane desalination, in order to evaluate the effectiveness and cost of the various pretreatment systems and the overall cost of desalination using these alternate pretreatment systems. The pilot testing is in progress at the San Patricio Municipal Water District (SPMWD) site located in Ingleside, Texas, and utilizes seawater from the Corpus Christi Bay. The pilot testing project is being funded by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation and cost shared by the SPMWD, and all the project partners including the membrane manufacturers. This paper documents the results from the initial three months of testing of the 12-month data collection period. Due to operational problems with the intake system, the data collection was largely suspended from July through November, 2002, due to heavy rains and flooding at the site. Data collection is expected to resume in December, 2002 and continue through August, 2003. Includes tables, figures.