January 4, 2023

Mr. Christopher Lincoln and Mr. Daniel Castillo are performing Filter Media Sampling at a filter plant located in Georgia. They are utilizing American Water Works Association (AWWA) B100 standard to obtain a core sample of the in-place media filter. Filter media is defined as the portion of a filtering system that separates unwanted particles from the substance being filtered. This project utilized a modified approach, allowing the filter plant to turn the tanks into “Low Flow” mode, instead of turning them off, which provided cost savings to our client.

In the photo, NOVA’s professionals are using a “Media Judge” (a tool for taking a vertical core sample) to obtain the filter media, which is composed of Anthracite and Sand. The samples were then removed, documented, and delivered to our NOVA laboratory in Kennesaw, Georgia for Grain Size Distribution, Effective Size, Uniformity Coefficient, Acid Solubility, and Mohs Hardness Testing. This test was performed to assist the filter plant in determining if the filter media was within safe and operable limits.

Photo credit: Jordan Wright, EIT, Project Engineer