Uninterrupted water supply with MPC-Buoy

Empresa de Servicios Sanitarios del Bio-Bío S.A. (Essbio) is one of the largest water utilities in Chile, managing over 200 water and wastewater treatment plants. The utility is highly committed to the regional development of universal access to water, even in the most remote areas of the country.

Delivery of clean drinking water

Essbio complies with the highest water quality standards set by the superintendency of sanitation services in Chile. Head of Operational Process Control at Essbio, Nicolas Arroyo Herrera, manages process standardization for drinking water production. Algae blooms continued to be a threat to the delivery of clean and safe drinking water until his department deployed MPC-Buoy systems to monitor and treat algae in the Quiñenco reservoir.

Quick results

In the first few weeks, the algae levels were already reduced by 38%. These results were measured by the MPC-Buoy water quality sensors and later confirmed by laboratory tests; thus, proving the accuracy of the MPC-Buoy sensors.

“MPC-Buoy has maintained the availability of the water source. That is the key in our strategy in the end, that the source remains available, and that was achieved” as claimed by Area Manager of the Arauco region of Essbio, Francisco González Salas. “It is a clean and harmless solution especially compared to alternative solutions such as chemicals” Francisco continued. “Application of chemicals [to treat algae] can generate by-products, which are more harmful than the problem you are trying to control”  – Nicolas adds.

Adaptive algae treatment

LG Sonic MPC-Buoy uses integrated water quality monitoring to predict and control algae blooms by using specific ultrasonic sound waves that only affect algae cells. This means the ultrasound can be adjusted to specific water conditions. “When algae levels reached a certain value, and the ultrasound program was changed, we could see an immediate effect in the treatment” Nicolas explains.

The systems’ operation and treatment are followed in the MPC-View water quality monitoring software. With the MPC-View, water operators gain valuable real-time insights into water quality, algae growth trends, and the treatment process. “It allows us to have information in real time. It generates alerts, is fast and timely, and we can see that the buoy is able to respond immediately [to changing algae levels]” Nicolas adds.

Within two years, the algae treatment efficiency at the Quiñenco reservoir had been maximized. Over time, MPC-Buoy became even more efficient due to the data it collects and analyses to treat algae growth with ultrasound. This success led to acquiring three more MPC-Buoy systems for deployment in the Lloca reservoir in late 2021.