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 Drinking Water Filter Backwashing

• Backwashing – reversing and increasing the

water flow to flush particles out of the filter
media.
• Backwashing is vital to the life of the filter
media.
• Backwashing is also fundamental to the
quality of the water coming out of the filter.
• This presentation examines the most
common filters, pressure or rapid-rate
gravity.
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 What is Filter Backwashing?

• One of the best ways to clean the filter is to

backwash it.
• Meaning to reverse the flow while increasing
the velocity.
• This reversed flow passing back through the
filter blasts the clogged particles off and out
of the filter.

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 Video Showing a Rapid Sand Filter in
Backwash

Seymour Capilano Water Plant Backwash

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=whwEBxqa3yU

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 Why Drinking Water Filters Need
Backwashing

• Drinking water filters collect, catch, or gather

particles from incoming flow.
• When the filter’s pores become clogged the
flow is restricted and contaminants may
bleed through to the clear well.
• Turbidity or cloudiness rises on the out flow
of the filters.

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 Why Drinking Water Filters Need
Backwashing

• Although every filter is unique, the principles

of backwashing are similar for all of them.
• One key ingredient to a good filter backwash
is clean water (usually out of the clear well or
first storage tank).

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 When to Backwash
• Cloudiness (turbidity) of the water coming out
of the filter is one of the best ways to
determine when to backwash.
• Good rule of thumb is 0.1 nephelometric
turbidity units (NTU).
• Head loss on the filter is another indicator.
When the filter gets clogged, more negative
pressure is created. –2.5 to –4 psi or about
10 feet of head loss is a common point to
start the backwash.
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 When to Backwash

• Some small plants may have a clear tube

when water rises due to head loss. Every
2.31 feet is 1 psi (Usually pre-marked to
indicate when to backwash).
• Another indicator is gallons filtered or the
pump’s run time, this varies from filter to
filter.

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 How Long to Backwash

• Backwash until the water runs clear

(provided there is enough clean water).
• If there is not enough clean water to
backwash until clear, the filter should be
backwashed more often to eliminate
overextended filter run times.

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 Techniques to Enhance and Speed Up
Backwashing

• Add surface wash system (a series of water

jets can be fixed or revolving apparatus) that
starts at the beginning of the backwash and
ends at the middle of the backwash.
• Subsurface wash—another series of water
jets in the media bed itself, usually when the
bed is fully fluidized (full backwash).

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 Techniques to Enhance and Speed Up
Backwashing

• For surface or subsurface wash to work

adequately, 45 psi minimum is needed.
• The flow for fixed nozzles should be 2
gallons per minute per square foot.
• The flow for rotating nozzles should be 0.5
gallons per minute per square foot.

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 Techniques to Enhance and Speed Up
Backwashing

• Add air scour system (a series of small air

pipes with diffusers in the under-drain or just
above the under–drain that blow
uncontaminated air) This helps break-up the
mud balls. Air flow should be 3 to 5 cu ft. per
minute per sq. ft. of filter area for air pipe in
the under–drain with lower air rates for pipes
above–under drain.

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 Techniques to Enhance and Speed Up
Backwashing

• Sometimes with air scour systems, the

backwash rate must be reduced or varied.
(usually a back wash rate of 8 gallons per
minute per sq. ft. of filter area).
• Air scour can be used the entire backwash
cycle but usually it is used in the first few
minutes.

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 Techniques to Enhance and Speed Up
Backwashing

• Another technique to help the backwash is to

use an ordinary, disinfected gravel rake on
an open rapid–rate gravity filter, this helps
break-up mud balls.
• Spraying the sides of the filter walls down
with clean potable water when the filter is in
full backwash cycle for open rapid–rate
gravity filters.

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 Techniques to Enhance and Speed Up
Backwashing

• Increasing or varying the backwash rate

helps the the backwash process but not too
much as the support gravel could be
displaced.

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 What Should the Backwash Rate Be?

• Most design manuals for a rapid–rate gravity

filter – min. 8 to 15 gal. per minute per sq. ft.
of filter area. For those filters with air scour
the rate should be at 8 gals. per minute per
sq. ft.
• For pressure filters the backwash rate is 15
gals. per minute per sq. ft.

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 How Much Expansion Should the Filter
Bed Have in the Full Backwash Cycle?

• During backwash the filter bed expands. The

filter bed should have as much expansion as
possible without losing media or displacing
the support gravel.
• Most engineering manuals – bed expansion
should be 30 to 50 percent
• Realistically, a 15 to 20 percent expansion
will work with proper backwash duration.
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 How Much Expansion Should the Filter
Bed Have in the Full Backwash Cycle?

• A 30 inch thick filter media should expand

the bed from 4.5 to 6 inches when in full
backwash.
• To much expansion and filter media can be
lost or the support gravel displaced.

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 Backwash Water

• The easiest way is to have the backwash line

connected to the nearest sanitary sewer line
(with proper backflow prevention). Take care
not to overload the sanitary sewer system.
• If a sanitary sewer is not present then a basin
or basins can be used.

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 Backwash Water

• With backwash basins the solids are allowed

to settle and the top lay can be drained off to
discharge point to a river or a stream with
(NPDES) permit.

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 Backwash Water

• Backwash water recycling can be an option.

In some places it is required and in some
places it is needed for drought conditions.
• This recycled water goes to the head of the
plant.
• Filter Backwash Recycling Rule – states no
more than 10% of the incoming flow can be
settled/decanted backwash water.
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 After Backwash

• Turbidity spike — the first slug of water that

comes from the filter after the backwash and
the filter is back to normal operation.
• This turbidity spike can occur anywhere from
a few minutes to 40 minutes or more after the
filter is in operational mode.

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 After Backwash

• “Ripening” the filter can take 30 minutes to

24 hours.
• Some small plants backwash at the end of
the day and allow ripening to occur
overnight.
• The longer the filter can sit the better for
ripening and does not cost anything or
require special piping.
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 How Long Should Filter-to-Waste be?

• Many plants do not have the luxury to “ripen”

the filter to avoid the turbidity spike. This is
where filter-to-waste comes in.
• Filter-to-waste is the most common
technique of eliminating the turbidity spike,
meaning that the first slug of filtered water is
directed to the sanitary sewer or backwash
basin.

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 How Long Should Filter-to-Waste be?

• Filter-to-waste should continue until the

turbidity spike subsides – the less turbidity in
the clear well the better.
• If no plumbing is in place for filter-to-waste
this would be a good investment
• Best way to monitor the turbidity is with the
continuous in-line turbidity monitors.

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 How Long Should Filter-to-Waste be?

• If in-line monitors are not available then a tap

off the individual filters can be used to take
samples.
• Use a Stop watch and a bench top turbidity
meter.
• Samples should be taken every minute for
the first 5 minutes and then at 2 minute
intervals for the next 20 minutes or until the
turbidity goes below +/- 0.1 NTU. Be sure to
use clean containers for sampling.
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 P.O. Box 6898
Morgantown, WV
26506-6898

Phone (toll free)

(800) 624-8301
Web
www.nesc.wvu.edu
E-mail
info@mail.nesc.wvu.edu

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