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South West Water has invested £6.3 million in a project to improve drinking water delivered to customers in North Devon.
The investment is for the installation of six new granulator activated carbon (GAC) filters at Northcombe water treatment works, near Okehampton.
Granular activated carbon is a specially engineered porous material with a large internal surface area – just one teaspoon has the same surface area as a football pitch. Due to its large surface area and special surface chemistry it can remove natural and manmade organic matter sometimes present in Roadford reservoir, which supplies the water treatment works.
Water that has passed through the GAC treatment process will start being introduced into supply from October 2017.
South West Water head of drinking water quality Chris Rockey said: “We already have some of the best tap water in the country but this major investment in additional treatment will deliver even better drinking water to our customers in North Devon.”
He added: “In the very short term, the smell or taste of chlorine may become more noticeable to some customers. For this reason, we will bring the new filters on line one at a time and blend the new and improved water with the water currently produced by the works to ensure a smooth transition.”
This approach was undertaken successfully at Restormel and Wendron water treatment works in Cornwall in 2014.
A version of this article first appeared on wwtonline
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