Category: Wastewater
Need: Wastewater Recycle / Reclaim
Customer: Aluminum Extrusion Company
Challenge: Reducing water consumption in a drought-stricken area

Tower Extrusions, a large aluminum extrusion company located in the drought-stricken city of Olney, Texas, was under extreme pressure to reduce water consumption. The city was experiencing water shortages, with reservoir levels declining by over 90%. Tower Extrusions is one of the city’s largest consumers of fresh water. The owner of the company, a long-time Olney resident, wanted to do what he could to help reduce his company’s water use.WaterProfessionals® learned that the environmentally-conscious owner had already attempted to reuse effluent from the city’s sewage treatment plant, rather than drawing fresh water from the limited water reservoir.

Tower Exclusions had previously installed a conventional media filtration system and attempted to filter the wastewater themselves.Unfortunately, wastewater recycling efforts did not prove fruitful, as contaminants in the city’s effluent water quickly fouled the filter media, leaving the water dirty and unfit for use. Tower Exclusions asked WaterProfessionals® to assist in the development of a wastewater recycling system that would allow them to effectively treat the city’s effluent water and reuse it as rinse water and makeup water.

WaterProfessionals® consulted with the President of the company, offering ideas for wastewater recycling and conservation. The company required two different qualities of water for plant operation: 1) a low particulate water that was safe to use for general cleaning and rinsing applications; and 2) water low in dissolved solids for use as final rinse water and makeup water.

WaterProfessionals® collected samples of treated water from the city’s sewage treatment plant effluent and began developing a water treatment system that would filter the municipal wastewater to meet the company’s needs. A custom water treatment solution was developed that utilizes ultrafiltration as pretreatment to reverse osmosis technology. Combined, the systems are able to remove particulate, bacteriological, virus, cyst and dissolved solid contaminants from the sewage plant discharge.

Ultrafiltration was used to filter the water for general use purposes followed by reverse osmosis to treat water used for final rinsing and as makeup water. The integrated, highly automated, PLC- controlled ultrafilter and reverse osmosis systems were provided by WaterProfessionals®.

The ultrafilter can produce 125,000 gallons of filtered water per day. The filtered water is stored in one of two 20,000-gallon storage tanks until required for general plant use or pumped to the reverse osmosis machine for further filtration. The reverse osmosis machine is capable of filtering 72,000 gallons of water per day, with a 95-98% reduction in dissolved solids.

To prevent fouling, the ultrafiltration system utilizes a PLC-controlled backwash cycle that incorporates air scour to remove foulants from membrane fibers. The system also includes PLC-controlled, automated chemical maintenance cleanings, as well as chemical recovery cleanings. The entire system is highly automated.

The custom fabricated wastewater treatment system by WaterProfessionals® will save up to 45-million gallons of water per year by recycling wastewater from the municipal sewage plant, rather than pulling water from an already strained reservoir. This system has removed the threat of the plant closing due to severe, sustained drought.

Wastewater Recycling Case Study

February 26, 2020

📅 Updated: Feb 10, 2025 | 📁 Compliance Standards

WaterProfessionals® is the best provider of ST108-compliant water treatment solutions, offering sales and services trusted by healthcare institutions & large corporations. Ensuring compliance with ST108 AAMI water quality standards is critical for hospitals and surgical centers to maintain the safety and effectiveness of their sterile processing departments (SPDs) and medical device reprocessing operations.

Why ST108 Compliance is Critical for Hospitals

The Association for the Advancement of Medical Instrumentation (AAMI) developed the ST108 standard to establish strict water quality guidelines for sterile processing and medical device reprocessing in healthcare facilities. Poor water quality can lead to:

Inadequate sterilization: Residual contaminants can compromise the effectiveness of disinfectants and sterilization processes.
Instrument corrosion and damage: Hard water, chlorine, and dissolved solids cause pitting, spotting, and degradation of surgical tools.
Microbial contamination: Bacteria, endotoxins, and organic matter can remain on medical instruments, increasing infection risks.
Regulatory non-compliance: Hospitals failing to meet ST108 water quality standards risk fines, citations, and patient safety violations.

Achieving compliance with ST108 is not just about meeting regulatory requirements—it is about ensuring that every reprocessed instrument is safe for use in critical medical procedures.

Key Steps to Implement ST108 Water Quality Standards

Implementing ST108 water quality standards in a hospital’s sterile processing department requires a strategic approach that includes water testing, treatment system upgrades, and continuous monitoring.

1. Assess Current Water Quality

Hospitals must conduct a comprehensive water analysis to identify:

Total Dissolved Solids (TDS): Measures inorganic salts and minerals that can cause residue buildup.
Hardness Levels: Calcium and magnesium can lead to scaling and equipment damage.
Chlorine & Chloramine Levels: Can corrode stainless steel instruments and interfere with sterilization.
Microbial Contamination: Includes bacteria, endotoxins, and organic residues that can compromise sterilization.

2. Upgrade Water Treatment Infrastructure

To meet ST108 standards, hospitals and surgical centers require specialized water treatment systems that ensure high-purity water for sterile processing. The most effective solutions include:

Reverse Osmosis (RO) Systems: Removes up to 98% of total dissolved solids (TDS), bacteria, and endotoxins to ensure ultra-pure water.
Deionization (DI) Systems: Achieves ultra-low conductivity water, removing minerals that can interfere with sterilization.
Carbon Filtration: Eliminates chlorine and chloramines, which can corrode surgical instruments.
Ultraviolet (UV) Sterilization: Neutralizes bacteria and viruses, preventing biofilm formation.

3. Establish Routine Monitoring & Compliance Checks

ST108 compliance is not a one-time process—it requires ongoing monitoring to ensure water quality remains within required parameters. Hospitals should implement:

Daily, weekly, and monthly water testing for microbial levels, TDS, and hardness.
Automated water monitoring systems to provide real-time data on water quality.
Regular equipment maintenance to prevent system failures and ensure consistent compliance.

Ensure Your Hospital is Fully ST108 Compliant Today

Meeting ST108 water quality standards is essential for hospital accreditation, regulatory compliance, and patient safety. Failure to comply can lead to instrument damage, sterilization failures, and increased infection risks.

Contact WaterProfessionals® today to schedule a consultation and let our water treatment experts design a custom ST108-compliant system for your hospital or surgical center.

Find A Solution

Contact our engineering team for a complimentary consultation & site audit. We design industrial water solutions tailored to your facility’s unique specifications.