Case Study
Net Present Value Of Purchasing Water Vs. RO Vs. Coagulation/Filtration
2011 and 2012." — Source: Wholesale Water Rates Increase (City of Brea, CA 2011); Source: MWD: Arrogance is in the water giant's DNA (San Diego UT, Sep 2010)
"MWD costs per acre foot." — Source: Historical Water Rates and Charges (MWD, Feb 2012)
RO System Cost Calculator — Source: RO Tools: Cost of Operation Calculator (GE Water, Feb 2012)
Historical Inflation Data — Source: Historical Inflation (Inflationdata.com, Jan 2012)
Option 1: Purchase Water from MWD Option 2: Reverse Osmosis System Option 3: Greensand Filtration Plant Option 4: Customized Media Filtration Plant
customized media pressure filtration system costs 60% more than a greensand system to install; however, the smaller tankage, smaller footprint, and far lower operating costs will save almost $2 million over the 20 year period versus the lowest price competitor — a 12.5% savings on the district's $14.5 million investment.
Citations
"Average American uses 70 gallons of water per day." — Source: Residential End Uses of Water (Denver, Co. Water Research Foundation, 1999)
"Average American water usage and cost is 98 gallons per day and $474 per year." — Source: Water supply and sani- tation in the United States (Wikipedia, 2005/2002)
"Average Californian uses between 108-470 gallons per day." — Source: California Usage Map (Aquanomics. com, Dec 2008)
"Hourly rate for Waste Water Plant Operator is $25/hour in the United States." — Source: Payscale.com Feb 2012; Source: Water and Wastewater Treatment Plant and System Operators (US Bureau of Labor Statistics, May, 2010)
"MWD increased their wholesale water rates in 2010 by 6% and 7.5% in
wateronline.com ■ Water Online The Magazine, Cleanwater Edition 27
Bruce Scholten is Membrane division manager at Filtronics, Inc. Over the course of his twenty-year career in the filtration industry, Mr. Scholten has worked in various capacities at numerous compa- nies including Mitsubishi Chemical, Pacific Press Company, and SoCal Water. He has overseen system design and installation for customers including Boeing, 3M, Bao Steel and Reliant Energy all across North America and South East Asia. Mr. Scholten
holds a BS in Engineering from CSULB, and an MBA from USC. He shares his thoughts on water treatment on Twitter @seawatermonkey. Please email any questions or thoughts to bscholten@filtronics.com.