Akasztó

We designed, permitted, and installed activated carbon adsorber tanks at the waterworks supplying Akasztó's municipal drinking water network, to remove a range of organic micropollutants.

Project overview

Usable volume

20

m3

Treatment capacity

2 400

m3/day

Activated carbon charge

W4A OS

Our role

We removed micropollutants from drinking water at the Akasztó waterworks by installing activated carbon filtration technology.

01

The problem

Bentazon, a herbicide, was detected at or above the regulatory limit in the production well supplying Akasztó's municipal drinking water — from a source that remains unidentified. A fast solution was essential: as a public utility, any contamination above the limit triggers an immediate emergency water supply order from the relevant authority, which is exactly what happened in Akasztó's case.

02

The solution

After several site surveys, we determined how, where, and under what conditions to integrate activated carbon filtration into the existing system. We then installed a mobile activated carbon treatment unit with a capacity of 100 m3/h at the water abstraction and treatment plant — which processes roughly 1,000 m3 a day — to reduce pesticide contamination in the groundwater.

03

The challenges

Every installation had to be tailored to the specific site conditions and constraints. Speed was critical: because this is a public utility, any contamination above the regulatory limit triggers an immediate emergency water supply order, as happened in Akasztó.

Outcome

We reduced pesticide concentrations in the raw drinking water — which had persistently exceeded the statutory limit of 0.10 µg/l, typically running at 0.18–0.22 µg/l — down to below the detection threshold of 0.01 µg/l. Because the solution is mobile, water supply never has to stop: the treatment unit responsible for pesticide removal can be swapped out within a few hours whenever it's needed, for instance once the activated carbon becomes saturated.