Mainstream Water Solutions Inc. Helping to Improve Drinking Water

Mainstream Water Solutions Inc., a local water treatment company, is carrying out a project to enhance the quality of drinking water in Saskatchewan communities. Working in collaboration with the University of Regina, Communities of Tomorrow (CT), and the National Research Council of Canada, Mainstream is developing a method to remove arsenic from municipal drinking water.

Recent changes in the Saskatchewan Guidelines for Drinking Water Quality decreased the maximum allowable concentration (MAC) for arsenic from 25 to 10 parts per billion. At least 20 communities in the province have a drinking water supply that slightly exceeds the MAC for arsenic. Municipalities are required to adjust their treatment systems to the new regulations by 2010.

Mainstream is assisting the Resort Village of Kannata Valley and the Village of Buena Vista to meet these guidelines. The company plans to carry out field tests in the two locations this year.

Ann Gottinger, lead researcher, says that Mainstream is developing a technology for arsenic removal that is cost effective, simple and reliable and, therefore, suitable for small utilities.

“The proposed technology is based on slow sand filtration,” says Gottinger. “Slow sand filtration has proven effective at arsenic removal. However, in source waters that are low in naturally occurring iron, such as that of Kannata Valley, many treatment systems including slow sand filtration will experience treatment difficulties. Our idea is to examine the addition of a specialized component to the Mainstream system that will use iron filings to provide the iron that will enhance arsenic removal.”

She adds that “in addition to being simple and low cost, the proposed technology will be environmentally-friendly as no chemicals will be used.”

Gottinger emphasizes that CT has been a vital partner in the project. “CT helped to launch the innovative project by assisting undergraduate engineers with initial research and by providing a seed grant,” she says. “The project could not proceed without the support CT provides towards the development of sustainable infrastructure research - a goal shared by Mainstream.”