Problem with Trojan Max Ultra-Violet (UV) Units

A standard LWW system with ultra-violet (UV) disinfection recently reported that the power unit for their UV unit continued to beep even though the green light was ON.

We have seen a condition similar to this at CWU and it usually indicated that the electrical connection with the UV Lamp was at fault.  Specifically, the problem was with the ground lead in the connection.  Once a tight connection was made, the problem was corrected, and the beeping stopped.  In these cases, the red light stayed lit during the beeping indicating that the UV was not providing disinfection protection.

In the Guatemala report, the UV Unit continued to beep even though the green light stayed lit.

A check of the TrojanMax web site discovered the following:

“Trojan UV Max C4 System Beeping After Replacing Lamp, Power Supply Issue
If you have a Trojan C4 UV Max power supply (black box with two LED light indicators) that was installed between January 2009 and January 2010, it is possible that it could have an alarm fault and will not reset.
The problem occurs when the Trojan UV lamp has been installed for about 1 year.  After 1 year, the UV Unit will start beeping indicating it is time to change the UV lamp and quartz glass sleeve.  After replacing the Trojan lamp there is no way to reset this alarm, and the unit will just keep beeping. 

 Trojan will swap these with an upgraded power unit at no charge. You can contact Trojan directly via their website or toll free line 1-800-265-7246.”

LWW is in the process of checking their stock of Trojan C4 UV Max units to see if they were manufactured during the time in question.  As we find these units, LWW will contact TrojanMax to replace them.

We ask that all Initiating Partners with UV systems purchased from FCI alert their Operating Partners, so that they can take action to correct this problem.  We have alerted our In-country Coordinators, Claudia and Miriam, so that they will know how to respond.

The good news is that as long as the Green Light stays lit on the unit, it will continue to disinfect the water and protect the users.

If you have any other comments or questions, please contact LWW at

infolww7629@livingwatersfortheworld.org

Living Waters for the World Adopts Zeolite Filtration Technology

At their last Technology Team meeting, Living Waters for the World (LWW) approved zeolite filter media for particulate removal from raw water sources. Hydro Source, LLC is one vendor marketing zeolite media under the trade name Turbidex©. Their literature claims that Turbidex© media is more effective than sand. The micron efficiency for Turbidex© media is 3–5 microns versus 25-30 microns for sand.

The dense zeolite material increases the media loading factor 2.8 times the loading factor for sand. In a typical barrel sand filter, for example, 2 – 3 cu ft (150 lbs) of media can be used in place of sand to get better filtering efficiency with more flow rate through the filter. At a price of $50 – $60 per cu ft, the media is more expensive than sand, but worth the efficiency and flow improvements.

In pressure filter applications, higher flow rates will improve particulate removal over sand in most cases.

LWW has identified zeolite media suppliers in the Yucatan and Guatemala. The next time you are considering installation of a barrel sand filter, think about using zeolite media in place of sand.

Here’s a link: www.turbidex.com

Tips on Reading a Test America Lab Report – Part II

In the first part of this segment, we focused on how to read the water quality test reports issued by Test America and other qualified labs. It was emphasized that not all tests are created equal and each one has its own Method Detection Limit (MDL) and Reporting Limit (RL). It is also important to keep the units consistent when reading the results of these tests. Some results are reported in parts per million (ppm or mg/L) and some in parts per billion (ppb or ug/L).

In this segment, we will focus on the water quality standards that Living Waters for the World (LWW) follows when evaluating a particular raw water source.

When evaluating a raw water source, LWW uses the Guidelines for Drinking-water Quality, Third Edition, Volume 1, Recommendations published in 2004 by the World Health Organization (WHO) as the standard. This volume is an excellent reference for hundreds of water contaminants found all over the world. The book is divided into section covering microbial aspects, chemical aspects, radiological aspects, and acceptability aspects of defining the quality of a water sample.

In some cases such as Arsenic and Nickel, the WHO Guidelines are provisional guidelines that have not been adopted by WHO. In these cases, LWW may revert to using US EPA Guidelines for Drinking Water or follow the provisional guidelines.

The chart below provides a comparison of WHO Guideline values, US EPA Primary Drinking Water Standards, and the detection and reporting limits for Test America.

Note that each of the Guideline Values is greater than the detection level providing confidence that the level of the contaminant can be measured and a determination of the quality of the water can be made based on the analysis.

Also note that the WHO guidelines for Mercury, Selenium, and Lead are less than the US EPA guidelines.
Using the water analysis from the previous posting, the Lead contamination is less than the WHO Guideline value. (1.5 ug/L = 0.0015 mg/L < 0.01 mg/L WHO)

The results are similar for Arsenic (2.0 ug/L = 0.002 mg/L < 0.01 mg/L WHO)

Metal tested	Result	Qualifier	RL	MDL	Units
Lead	1.5	U	1.5	0.50	ug/L
Arsenic	2.0	J	2.5	1.3	ug/L

Metal tested Result Qualifier RL MDL Units
Lead 1.5 U 1.5 0.50 ug/L
Arsenic 2.0 J 2.5 1.3 ug/L

Interpreting water quality testing results can be challenging. It is most important to pay attention to the units in the report be they ug/L or mg/L. As long as the units are consistent, then comparison of the various values is straightforward. In case there are any questions, you may contact Living Waters for the World for assistance.