Water Operator Training

WATPRO is a sophisticated water treatment simulator for predicting water quality. It allows for simple evaluation of the performance of a drinking water treatment facility from a microbial and chemical standpoint.

The simulator uses the EPA-developed CT approach to calculate chemical inactivation of Giardia and viruses while simultaneously estimating formation of DBPs. Using raw water quality parameters such as pH, TOC and SUVA, chemical dosages (e.g. alum, ferric chloride, lime , ammonia) and design and operating characteristics of process tanks, WatPro accurately simulates plant operation.

WatPro has a user-friendly interface that allows a schematic of the water treatment plant to be easily configured within minutes.

Unit Process

Influent

• Raw water influent

Distribution

• Raw Water Reservoir
• Transfer/Distribution Pipe
• Channel
• Pass Through Point

Chemical

• Chemical Addition
• Disinfectant Addition
• Flocculator

Solid Separation

• Settling Basin
• Filtration
• Membrane

Adsorption

• Granular Activated Carbon

Disinfection

• Contact Tank
• Ozonator
• UV Contactor

Storage

• Clear Well
• Fixed/Variable Volume Tank

Effluent

• Final Treated Water

Features

Create a Plant Layout

• Drag unit objects from the process table onto the drawing board to create your plant model layout
• Create connections between the model objects to defile the flow pathway
• Make changes to the parameter inputs to match your plant specifications

Observe Model Results

• Users can observe the Final Effluent Summary and Process Output Summary in the tables at the bottom of the window
• The Hotspot feature provides the user with a visual identification of the units containing the variable of interest, and the relative magnitude
• Results can be exported from WatPro into an external document for further analysis
• Users can specify what data and images they would like to include or exclude

Effluent Limits

• Custom Effluent Limits can be specified by the user
• After running the simulation, the non-compliant paramters will be identified

Model Calibration

• Several model parameters can be calibrated to site specific data

Sensitivity Analysis

• Allows the user to observe the effect of changing various design and operating conditions
• The Sensitivity Analysis adjusts the magnitude of the parameter of interest while holding all other parameters constant
• Impact of the influent flow rate on the inactivation of Giardia, Crypto and viruses is explored

Simple Interface

• Users can create multiple layouts within the same file allowing for easy comparison between models with different parameter specifications
• Key parameters of interest can be pinned to the Quick Adjust Toolbar eliminating to need to open the model object each time you would like to adjust the value of a parameter

Benefits

• Optimize water treatment processes
• Minimize DBP formation
• Ensure effective disinfection
• Increase consumer confidence
• Reduce expensive lab and pilot studies
• Potential savings on disinfectant costs
• Improve operator skills
• Respond to changing water quality
• Evaluate process changes
• Facilitate regulatory changes

Typical Uses

• Minimize formation of DBPs (e.g. THMs, HAAs, chlorite, chlorate)
• Compare inactivation of viruses and Giardia by chlorine, ozone, chlorine dioxide and chloramine
• Calculate Ct for any location in the treatment system
• Optimize plant operation by allowing chemical addition points to be varied or by tank baffling
• Estimate treated water quality for a proposed change in plant operation
• A highly effective education and teaching tool

Advantages of Chlorine Dioxide

The substitution of chlorine by chlorine dioxide as a disinfectant in drinking water treatment is of growing interest. While chlorine has been effective for reducing most microbial pathogens to safe levels, it reacts with naturally-occurring matter in the water to form trihalomethanes (THMs) and haloacetic acids (HAAs) as disinfection by-products (DBPs).

In WatPro, the models for consumption of ClO2, and formation of chlorite and chlorate are taken from newly published university research. The expressions are expressed as functions of water quality and chlorine dioxide related parameters.

WatPro is very useful in the evaluation of the substitution of chlorine by chlorine dioxide. Through modeling, one can determine microbial reductions and levels of DBPs formed at comparable disinfectant doses. Once the doses of disinfectants are known, cost comparisons may be conducted to see which is the most cost-effective

Inactivation of E. Coli Bacteria

WatPro can show whether pathogenic bacteria like E. coli 0157:H7 have been adequately inactivated in a water treatment plant.

For an uninterrupted primary disinfectant dosage rate, WatPro tracks the inactivation of viruses and Giardia by disinfectant addition. Because fecal coliform bacteria are inactivated by disinfectants to a greater extent than viruses, the log reduction of bacteria like E. coli will match or exceed the reduction for viruses calculated by WatPro. The simulator also determines the Ct disinfection parameter at any location in the treatment plant