A new water filtrations system installed by the Eastsound Water Users Association (EWUA) at its three Blanchard Rd. wells will provide service for several hundred new membership connections in the future.

The Blanchard wells have been historically impaired with higher than acceptable levels of manganese, limiting EWUA’s use of the wells. While manganese is a naturally occurring element  with no adverse health effects, it can lead to discolored water. The State Department of Health’s water quality level for manganese is .05 mg/l.

The Blanchard well field’s smaller-capacity older filtration system limited EWUA use to just 14 to 20 gallons per minute last summer.

The new filter system is removing 97 percent of the manganese. Test results of the water “going to system” are consistently 0.01 mg/l or lower.

This summer, the new filter has enabled operation at 75 gpm. The added capacity helps relieve stress at EWUA’s other water sources during peak summer demand, and provides added backup capacity that could mitigate a major leak or equipment failure elsewhere in the system.

The filter was developed by California company Filtronics. The association plans to use similar Filtronics units at two other new water sources  to remove manganese.

Roughly $250,000 of the association’s capital reserves were invested in the Blanchard improvements, and the new filter has eliminated over $5,500 in annual disposable cartridge filter costs associated with the old system.

For more information, contact Eastsound Water Users Assocation general manager Paul Kamin at 376-2127.