386Capital Costs of Arsenic Removal Technologies Demonstration
Program Round 1
EPA 600-R-04-201
As part of this Arsenic Rule Implementation Research Program, EPA’s Office of Research
and Development (ORD) proposed a project to conduct a series of full-scale, long-term,
on-site demonstrations of arsenic removal technologies, process modifications, and
engineering approaches applicable to small systems in order to evaluate the efficiency
and effectiveness of arsenic removal systems at meeting the new arsenic MCL. For the
Round 1 demonstration study, the selected arsenic treatment technologies include nine
adsorptive media systems, one ion exchange system, one coagulation/filtration system,
and one process modification.
The adsorptive media systems use four different adsorptive media, including three iron-
based media, i.e., ADI’s G2, Severn Trent and AdEdge’s E33, and USFilter’s GFH, and
one iron-modified activated alumina media, i.e., Kinetico’s AAFS50 (a product of Alcan).
Since the inception of the project, 10 of 12 systems have been installed, with flowrates at
all systems ranging from 37 to 640 gpm.
A key objective of the long-term demonstration project is to determine the cost-
effectiveness of the technologies. This report provides a brief description of each of the
12 Round 1 demonstration sites and the respective technologies being evaluated.
Capital costs were organized into three categories— equipment, engineering, and
installation—and then summed to arrive at a total capital investment cost for each system.
Operations and maintenance (O&M) costs associated with the treatment systems are not
yet available; however, vendor-supplied estimates on media replacement costs also are
provided in this report.
Excluding the cost for one system modification site, the total capital investment costs
range from $90,757 to $305,000, and vary by flowrate, system design, material of
construction, monitoring equipment, and specific site conditions. Based on a 3% interest
rate and a 20-year return period, the unit costs of the total capital investment range from
$0.03 to $0.79 per 1,000 gallons of water treated. In general, the unit cost decreases as
the size of a treatment system increases.
The equipment costs for the treatment systems range from $66,235 to $218,000,
representing 54 to 80% of the total capital investment cost. Engineering costs for the
treatment systems range from $4,907 to $50,659, accounting for 5 to 22% of the total
capital investment with an average of 12%. Installation costs for the treatment systems
range from $13,150 to $77,574, which accounts for 12 to 34% of the total capital
investment with an average of 22%.
Finally, building cost information obtained from the host facilities also is provided in the
report. Building costs range from $3,700 to $186,000, varying according to differences in
location, size, design, material of construction, and choice of construction contractor.