Yeoncheon-gun Water Purification Plant
Challenge Detected
Yeoncheon-gun is in the north east area of South Korea, close to the border with North Korea, and has a rich and fascinating history, a burgeoning tourism industry, and is looking for areas of further growth.
Yeoncheon Water Purification Plant was built in 1969 and was originally called Jeongok Water Purification Plant. After a 1996 integration it became the Yeoncheon-gun Water Purification Plant. Yeoncheon-gun has a population of 62,118, the water supply population is 68,149, and the supply rate is 94.3%.
The main facilities are one water supply plant, one water purification plant, and two reservoirs.
The plant is required to do mandatory E. coli testing on water supplies and faucets. Initially they were inspecting 14 sites, but since the integration they are now carrying out 30 site inspections per month and 40 samples per month for every four sites.
With this number of required tests the lab needs to work quickly and efficiently. The people in the surrounding community rely on these tests to ensure that their water is safe and clear of bacteria. Traditional methods are time consuming to prepare, prone to errors, and took a long time to receive results. These methods took up a great deal of the lab personnel time and required visual interpretation of the results
Solution Detected
The decision was made to install the TECTA™ B16 units, the world’s first fully automated, rapid, on-site detection system for E. coli, coliforms, and enterococcus bacteria. The TECTA™ B16 provides results with unprecedented speed, accuracy, and an advanced digital alert system to increase efficiency and ease-of-use within the lab. Extreme ease-of-use means that even non-technical personnel can initiate testing and perform all required quality assurance procedures to ensure laboratory-grade test results.
Once the TECTA™ B16 was installed microbiologists were spending far less time on the preparation of tests and analyzing the results. TECTA provides a solution that is easy to use, accurate, and reports are sent directly via email – this means as soon as presence of bacteria is found notification is sent. Using TECTA also means that data is provided in a way that makes it easy to report and track.
Success Detected
“With the number of required tests increasing we find that using the TECTA system is not only faster, but far more reliable as all the testing is done within the unit. We don’t have to wait until the next day to analyze the results as they are sent to us via email, meaning our reaction time can be quicker ensuring the safety of our water and the health of our customers,” said Kim Jae-kwang (MS) the specialist in charge of testing for E. coli.
The TECTA system is so advanced it is capable of providing an estimate of the number of bacteria that were present in the original sample – an important indicator of the level of severity of an adverse microbiological test result.
The analysts are also impressed with automated fluorescence process that can reliably test any water without prior dilution. The reports sent by the TECTA system eliminates the need to hand write the results saving time and preventing error. Providing the results electronically also means the data is much easier to manage, track, and store.