Highly Mobile Drinking Water Treatment: adapted to the needs of relief organizations

The TWA 4 fulfils the special requirements of aid organisations and stands out for its easy and safe handling in setting up, operation and transport, as well as its reliable process technology. It is the newest system of whole range of proven mobile solutions for drinking water treatment, made by Berkefeld, part of the Veolia Water Technology Division.

The TWA 4 light was designed on the basis of the experiences of drinking water experts in aid organizations, and operational experiences with other mobile plant types, to meet the special demands of operations in disaster areas. The system combines a number of process steps which, coordinated with each other, turn most sweet surface water into drinking water without problems. As the first step behind the raw water delivery, the system provides for an inline coagulation section which enables water production in a very short time. After a sand filtration there follows an activated carbon filtration to remove residual pollutants. A subsequent deposit chlorination prevents a renewed contamination of the drinking water.

The system is completed by storage for about 10,000 litres of clean water and distribution via two receiving stations with self-closing taps. Because the entire plant is operated by diesel pumps there is no need for any electricity supply. By utilizing natural slopes, the energy input for the plant can be reduced even further. The packed plant is transported on only two Europe palettes. The TWA 4 light is also easy to bring to the operating site with every airliner and also by land routes, so it is highly mobile and does not depend on additional transhipment equipment.

The plant has already been deployed successfully in disaster areas by several Red Cross organisations, such as following the floods in Pakistan. "The plant's extremely high mobility and its very easy and safe handling in setting up, operation and backflushing of the filter have proved themselves in action," says Yannick Liedtke, the responsible Project Manager at the Berkefeld water technology company. "We ensure high quality of engineering and assembly as well as of all components of the plants. The logistical supply of most of the spare parts and operating materials can be made locally in the country involved." Even in the case of a high degree of contamination of the raw water, the drinking water generated from it fulfils the demands of the WHO.

The Berkefeld water technology company celebrated in 2012 its 120th anniversary since its founding by Wilhelm Berkefeld in Celle. The company trades under the name VWS Deutschland GmbH. It is a subsidiary of Veolia Water Solutions & Technologies, one of the internationally leading suppliers of solutions and plants for treating drinking, process and waste water. The product offer encompasses solutions for a broad range of applications, from building and swimming baths technology to power stations and industrial companies, such as beverage, food and pharmaceuticals producers, and laboratories, municipalities and international relief organisations.

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