Winnipeg is adding a state-of-the-art plant that will employ four new drinking water treatment processes once it’s on-line next year. Odor-causing algae will be clumped together by coagulants, forced to the surface with tiny air bubbles (DAF) and then skimmed off into settling ponds. Ozone will break down organic molecules into smaller, more easily destroyed chains. Biofiltration using carbon filters will remove the remaining organic molecules. These processes will be added to two existing measures – ultraviolet radiation treatment to inactivate the cryptosporidium and chlorination to kill single-celled animals like giardia.
This approach of multiple barriers is gaining strength among water treatment regulators and operators as the threat of both water born desease and the byproducts of chlorine disinfection are balanced.