EPA Selects Severn Trent Services and Adedge Technologies for National Arsenic Treatment Demonstration Projects

SORB 33(tm) technology and Bayoxide® E33 media to be used at half of the EPA's demonstration sites

Fort Washington, Pa. - June 13, 2003 -The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has selected SORB 33(tm) arsenic removal technology and Bayoxide® E33 media for use at six of 12 demonstration sites  in the EPA's National Arsenic Treatment Demonstration Project. 

Severn Trent Services submitted proposals for six EPA demonstration sites.  Adedge Technologies, Inc., Severn Trent Services' exclusive partner for providing arsenic removal systems to the small water systems market, also submitted proposals for five additional EPA demonstration sites.  All eleven proposals were evaluated as "recommended" to the EPA by an external peer review panel.  The EPA selected these technologies for demonstration in Anthony, N.M.; Namble Pueblo, N.M.; Brown City, Mich.; Stevensville, Md.; Rim Rock, Ariz.; and Rollinsford, N.H. 

"As the January 2006 compliance date for the new federal MCL standard approaches, municipalities need to identify affordable and efficient arsenic removal technologies," said Tom Mills, Vice President of Severn Trent Services.   "The EPA's National Arsenic Treatment Demonstration Project will help municipalities understand how they can affordably employ the latest technologies such as iron-based media to meet the government's new guidelines."

The National Arsenic Treatment Demonstration Project evaluates the efficiency and effectiveness of drinking water treatment technologies, process modifications, and engineering approaches at various host sites.  The project is designed to demonstrate compliance with the new federal arsenic standard of a maximum contamination level (MCL) of 10 parts per billion in drinking water.  The program will validate the reliability of Severn Trent's technologies for small systems; gauge the simplicity of their operation, maintenance, and required operator skills; determine their cost-effectiveness; and characterize their treatment residuals.

The EPA estimates that approximately 13 million people in the U.S. routinely drink water containing arsenic at concentrations greater than allowed under recently established government standards.  Severn Trent Services developed the SORB 33 process to reduce arsenic contamination across a range of water treatment system sizes, and the technology has been commercially proven to effectively and economically meet the stringent new government standards.  Bayoxide E33 is a dry, robust, crystalline granular ferric oxide media designed with a high capacity for arsenic, providing long operating cycles and low operating costs.

About Severn Trent Services
Severn Trent Services (www.severntrentservices.com), based in Fort Washington, Pa., is a leading supplier of water and wastewater treatment solutions.  The company's broad range of products and services is concentrated around disinfection and filtration technologies, pipeline analysis, rehabilitation and repair services, contract operating services, and  residential metering products.  The company is part of the Severn Trent Group (London: SVT.L), Birmingham, England.