EVALUATION OF TREATMENT ALTERNATIVES FOR REMOVAL OF ARSENIC AND URANIUM IN RIO RANCHO WELL WATER

The City of Rio Rancho (CORR) is one of the fastest growing cities in New Mexico and relies on groundwater to serve the potable water needs of its customers. Due to continued growth in CORR’s City Center area, CORR has decided to equip Well 23, which has a yield of 2,360 gallons per minute. CORR is also planning to construct a water storage tank at the Paseo Gateway Tank site, which provides an opportunity for centralized treatment for Well 23 as well as other planned wells. Composite samples showed that Well 23 water has arsenic, uranium, iron, total dissolved solids and sulfate levels above their respective primary or secondary regulatory standards. Treatment to remove these contaminants is required prior to distribution of the well water. As part of the Well 23 project, pretreatment and primary treatment alternatives were evaluated, and the recommended treatments were selected based on a comparison of present worth costs and non cost advantages and disadvantages. In addition, an analysis was conducted to compare on-site versus centralized treatment at the Paseo Gateway Tank site. This presentation will discuss the results of the evaluation of pretreatment and primary treatment alternatives, as well as the evaluation of on-site versus centralized treatment. Environmental and economical considerations associated with the project will be discussed, and the details of the recommended treatment solution will be presented.