Feasibility study on rebuilding water purification system in Ukraine: case study Rivne

Abstract

The underground waters of Ukraine do not meet the regulative requirements for sources of water supply. Purification plants are generally relatively old, and pipelines of distribution networks in many cases are made of outdated materials and designed with a large margin of productivity. The conflict in Ukraine has also impacted water supplies and resources in several ways. Reconstruction is an inevitable fact and will be faced in the near future.

The main object of this thesis was to conduct a feasibility study focused on potential solutions for enhancing or reconstructing a groundwater purification unit in Rivne Oblast. Purification plants are generally relatively old and operated since the 70s in Soviet times with e.g. improper selection of equipment. It’s practically impossible to achieve the established norm of drinking water, without the appropriate reconstruction of the treatment facilities. In addition to that, one objective was to create a comprehensive overview of inland water resources in Ukraine.

The study work was carried out entirely remotely without any visits or seeing the existing system in Rivne. The study primarily relied on sourcing information from various online resources, including supplier websites, literature, research papers, and articles. Communication with suppliers was conducted through email exchanges and remote meetings. Furthermore, it is important to note that valuable insights were gained through consultations with local contacts in Ukraine, who played a significant role in achieving the study's objectives.

The result of the study was targeted to find a scalable method, which is possible to utilize also for other groundwater treatment plants by adjusting and scaling according to requirements. Finally, options on different extents were proposed to be implemented. The simplest and cheapest suggested options are filter media cleaning or improvement by changing the type of media. As major improvements, the proposal is to implement Allwatec Oy's new biological cleaning method adapted to the current process or to build a completely new modular Brightwork EcoBlue moving bed filtration system.