Bachman Water Treatment Plant saving millions of gallons per year

New filtering procedures at the City’s Bachman Water Treatment Plant (BWTP) have been so effective at saving water that Dallas Water Utilities (DWU) is considering using the conservation techniques at its other two treatment facilities.

After an efficiency evaluation, Bachman Plant operations staff determined that backwash durations could be shortened, and more water could be saved by allowing the filters to completely drain before beginning the backwash procedure. Operations staff also teamed up to evaluate and update two operational processes. The new procedures will save approximately 328,515,700 gallons of water per year.

DWU’s Long Range Water Supply Plan projects that 48 percent of the City’s future water supply will come from conservation and reuse. To achieve this goal, water efficiency in all sectors is crucial, including DWU operating processes.

The operators at BWTP have demonstrated how rethinking the way a process is normally done can save millions of gallons of water and that improving water efficiency can’t wait until drought conditions get worse.