Soneera Water Unity Pilot Program Successfully Started

Soneera Water is pleased to announce that The Town of Unity has now received its’s “Certificate to Operate” from the Saskatchewan Water Safety Authority (WSA).  The Town of Unity’s waste water treatment facility is the only waste water treatment facility fully approved by a Government Authority in North America utilising Soneera Waters electrofluccation technology.  The successful approval for the Town of Unity to operate the two Soneera Memfree systems as a fully functional waste water facility was after an extensive 18 month Pilot Program overseen by the Saskatchewan Water Security Agency (WSA).  Soneera commenced the Pilot Program on January 11th 2017.  The Soneera Memfree Waste Water Treatment system is a patented process that will revolutionize waste water treatment in small and mid-size communities. These two units are the first to be operationalized in North America, although similar units have been used in Australia for some years. Results under extreme winter weather conditions were positive. These two units, now that the Certificate to Operate has been issued by the WSA, will allow the town to grow by 70% from its current population of 3,000. Since the system is modular additional units can be installed as and when required to allow growth up to 6,000+ people. Soneera Water is pleased that many other communities in Saskatchewan and throughout North America have monitored progress of this pilot. The technology provides a cost effective treatment option for municipal waste, industrial water reclamation and potable water generation. The system utilizes a small footprint and uses no membranes or chemicals in operation. Power consumption (and operating cost) is minimal, typically around 0.05 kWh per cubic meter of water. Soneera Water has partnered with Tecvalco Ltd for its Canadian sales, manufacturing and service and Tecvalco USA as its USA...

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Pilot project wastewater system now operational

Helena Long / Battlefords News-Optimist UNITY — With the new wastewater treatment system fired up in Unity Jan. 11, Mayor Ben Weber, town council members and other town staff went to the treatment site Feb. 5 to see it in operation and to hear representatives of Soneera Water explain how the process works. Although the original goal was to have the system operational by the end of October, weather and some manufacturing delays put off the start date. Power was also not available at the site until the end of November, rather than the originally planned end of September. Darrell Behan, Soneera CEO, is pleased, however, that they are immediately able to test the working and results of the MemFree system during the cold winter months. Soneera is an Arizona-based company licensed to market the patented electroflocculation technology – invented by Dr. Vivian Robinson in Australia – in North America. The Unity plant is a pilot project, not only the first for Saskatchewan but all of Canada. In a Jan. 30 Marketwire news story, Behan was quoted as saying, “It was vital to get the installation commissioned in the winter. We need to give the equipment the opportunity to run and prove itself in the Canadian winter and really test it during the pilot phase.” With just over three weeks of tinkering with inflow, outflow and other controls at the time town representatives toured the site, Behan was extremely happy with the tests done to date. Samples of wastewater, before and after treatment, were on display in clear Mason jars and there was an obvious visual difference. Behan also pointed out a control panel which measures the lack of solid residues in the water. With the number varying between 83 and 89 per cent, he was evidently thrilled with the results, saying that, at 90 per cent, water is considered potable. Collin Field, Unity’s public works director, pointed out afterward that “although the technology could be capable of achieving potable water standards, the end result is that it is still wastewater. In order for this water to be potable, there would have to be further treatment required [to meet] Canadian Drinking Water Guidelines, and ultimately the Sask. Water Security Agency has the final say.” The MemFree system is not going to replace the water treatment plant; its purpose is to treat sewage. Nevertheless, with the treated water entering a settlement pond which ultimately flows into Sink Lake, over a number of years, residents should see a marked improvement in the quality of the water in the lake. With the long-time sewage lagoons at Sink Lake, just west of Unity, the lake is not capable of sustaining fish life. Behan believes this will now change, in time. Standing in the building housing the two continuous flow MemFree units, councillors remarked on the lack of a strong sewage smell. Weber, a...

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Unity officials visit Tecvalco plant

By John Cairns Staff Reporter, Battleford News Optimist Municipal officials from the Town of Unity got to see for themselves the progress made towards the manufacturing of their new Soneera Water wastewater treatment system. They visited the Tecvalco plant in North Battleford Tuesday afternoon, where the system is being constructed. Officials from the town, including Mayor Sylvia Maljan, as well as their CAO and heads of public works and finance, went on the tour at the North Battleford facility. The town purchased two Soneera water treatment filtration units earlier this year. The units are part of a pilot project sanctioned by the Saskatchewan Water Security Agency. These will be the first Soneera units built in Canada. “It will help the capacity of the Town of Unity to grow both economically and through their commercial applications and allow them to access and use some more water,” said Mike Menger, president of Tecvalco Ltd. Then the electrical work is done including the installation of the plate packs, “which is the real key to the Soneera technology,” said Kent McLeod, vice-president of manufacturing for Tecvalco.Inside the plant, the delegation saw the base and the structure for the Soneeras, as well as the troughs. There were also plates lined up on the side that would be fitted as sidewalls. These would be pre-fitted, welded and then blasted and coated inside the plant. There are two units being constructed for Unity, with the first unit being completed by mid-October and the second unit by late October. The units should be commissioned and up and running by mid-November. There is also construction going on at Unity’s site, with the shed and the slab to be finished by the end of this month. The work is on schedule, according to officials. Darrell Behan, president of Soneera Water Canada Ltd., called the technology a game-changer in Canada. “Our technology uses no chemicals, it has less waste, so it only has five per cent waste instead of 30 per cent waste for standard water treatment systems, and it’s cost effective,” said Behan. “For communities of 5,000 to 10,000, it’s a cost-effective way of updating their sewage ponds.” As for the location of the construction, Soneera had been looking around for a plant that could handle the build and were looking at sites across North America. However, Behan said Wayne King, the previous owner of Grit Industries (now Tecvalco) contacted him about their facility and officials met in Arizona and signed the deal. Tecvalco signed the agreement that makes them the exclusive sales agent and manufacturer in Canada for the Soneera system. Already, there have been expressions of interest from other communities in Canada. But nothing is finalized until the pilot project in Unity gets up and running. “We’re very happy to concentrate on manufacturing and selling in Canada,” said Menger. “This project is a major, huge quantum leap...

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Soneera Water Honors Commitment to Saskatchewan – Partners with Local Distributor and Manufacturer

Soneera Water Canada is pleased to announce the appointment of Tecvalco Ltd as the exclusive Distributor and Manufacturer for Canada. As communities in Saskatchewan continue to expand, the need to treat waste water also grows. This is an issue already being faced by many towns and cities in the province, and one the companies of Tecvalco Ltd. and Soneera Water believe they have a solution for. Tecvalco Ltd. a Niagara Falls-based company with a major manufacturing facility in North Battleford, has penned an agreement with Soneera Water, to be the exclusive manufacturer and sales representative for Soneera’s waste water treatment technology in Canada. “We are so very excited by the potential of this technology,” noted the president of Tecvalco, Mike Menger. “This partnership pairs Tecvalco’s expertise in manufacturing and sales with Soneera’s revolutionary technology. Soneera compliments the range of products we are currently offering.” Mr. Menger also stressed that this deal helps solidify manufacturing jobs associated with this product line here in Saskatchewan – something that is very important to him and his organization. Darrell Behan, Soneera Water’s CEO, said “We recognized the potential for the broader Canadian market very early in the Town of Unity sales cycle. This partnership with the Town of Unity will very positively impact our time to market in the region. Tecvalco brings the experience and infrastructure required to maximize that potential.” Soneera Water’s COO, Geoff Hukins, had previously noted that finding local manufacturing was high on their priority list. “Securing a deal with Tecvalco has fulfilled this corporate objective for Soneera Water” stated Geoff Hukins. The first Canadian installation of the Soneera Water system is taking place in Unity, Saskatchewan. The installation will help accommodate the growth of the town, delivering clean water into Sink Lake and enhancing the quality of water that is in the existing treatment ponds. The system is designed with an eye to future growth, as it is modular and can be expanded as needed. The Town of Unity decided to go with the Soneera system after careful examination of the economics involved. They found that it was the most economically-viable of all the alternatives they considered. On June 14th Mr. Menger and Mr. Behan updated the Town of Unity’s Mayor, Sylvia Maljan, and the Town Council about the new agreement between Soneera Water and Tecvalco. Mayor Maljan said she “was extremely pleased that Unity was involved in bringing this cutting edge Technology to Canada and due to that foresight, the town was helping to maintain and grow jobs in the manufacturing sector in Saskatchewan”. “We are also pleased that the first two modular systems built at Tecvalco’s North Battleford manufacturing will be for Unity’s sewerage ponds upgrade project” added the mayor. Soneera Water’s system was invented, in Australia, by Dr. Vivian Robinson. It has found acceptance and success in the Australian market, and was first introduced in North...

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