Water Treatment Systems
for potable, agricultural, mining, industry

Blackburn & Associates designed package-plant water treatment systems are easy to install, inexpensive to purchase and maintain, and use minimal power. If chemicals are required for a specific process, we won't use any that are toxic or environmetally damaging. Our systems utilize proprietary retention times and filtration rates coupled with fundamental processes, not gadgets or gizmos. Blackburn & Associates designs systems and provides consulting services and works with Blue Future Filters Inc., to provide filtration systems throughout the United States and internationally.

Slow Sand Filters

Slow sand filters remove 99.99% of bacteria, viruses, Giardia, and Cryptosporidium, are approved for surface water treatment, have no power or chemical requirements, and have gravity feed hydraulics. Optional additions include Granular activated carbon for pesticides, THM removal, calcite to raise pH, and UV or ozone for second barrier protection.

Slow sand filters range in size from the patented SSF/x home filters to medium community-sized filters. We work with Blue Future Filters Inc. to produce filters that are designed for residential, commercial, municipal and agricultural use.

For more information on specific filters, visit the links to Blue Future Filters below:

• Home filters: The SSF-1.25 and SSF/x
• Commercial filters: The SSF-3 through SSF-10 series
• Municipal-sized slow sand filters

Roughing Filters

Roughing filters remove sand and silt (settleable solids) and remove 50%-80% turbidity (cloudiness). Roughing filters are used primarily as pretreatment for filter systems that may not be able to tolerate high turbidity or suspended solids in the source water. Blackburn & Associates' designed roughing filters are upflow course media filters that can handle from 1 gallon per minute for home use to 50 gallons per minute for agricultural use. The upflow feature allows for maximum removal efficiency coupled with simple maintenence. By opening the downwash valves, flow through the filter is reversed at a high rate flushing filtered particles out. This system allows for years of use of the filter without gravel replacement.

For specific sizes and specifications, click the following Blue Future Filters link:

• Roughing Filters

Iron-removing Filters

Iron-removing filters remove iron, manganese, hydrogen sulfide, sand and silt from ground-water sources (deep wells), and are designed for use in homes as well as vineyards, ranchs, resorts, retreat centers and parks.

The home-sized iron-removing filters bring high-quality, non-chemical iron removing filters to your home. Our FE/x produces up to 1,440 gallons per day, and the ME-4 produces up to 5,700 gpd. Both filters use natural aeration, precipitation and upflow gravel filtration to produce water you can live with. Simple to install and simple to maintain.

Commercial and community-sized iron filters are designed for those who need significant flows for irrigation or domestic use, but have iron, manganese, sand, silt, hydrogen sulfide and other contaminants in their groundwater source. Our larger ME filters use natural processes such as cascade aeration and up-flow gravel filtration, which means you don't have to use chemicals or expensive media blends. These filters can pay for themselves in 2 years just in chemical savings. Installing the filter can be accomplished by minimally trained personnel with basic plumbing and construction skills and cost far less up front than most conventional systems.

Other State of the Art systems for greywater, tertiary treatment of wastewater, systems for treating specific problem waters such as in mining or agriculture.

For specific sizes, prices and specifications on iron filters (manufactured by Blue Future Filters), click below or contact Blue Future Filters, Bellingham Washington,  at 360 756 0071:

• Home iron filters
• Commercial iron filters

An SSF 1.25 slow sand filter system with filter and control tanks (on left) and storage tank (on right).

A electron photomicrograph of the complex biological matrix found in the schumtzdecke, or biolayer, in a slow sand filter (photo courtesy of Robert Jordan University, UK)

A cutaway of one of an ME-25 iron-removing filters, which produces 25 gallons per minute.

Photo courtesy of Henning Gatz, Aquacare

Municipal-sized slow sand filters utilize epoxy powdercoated steel tanks.