Introduction

When typhoons and heavy rainfall arrive, water quality in rivers, reservoirs, and nearshore seawater undergoes drastic fluctuations: sediment inflows, humic substance release, and soaring colloid content. Nearshore areas also face the risk of red tides. Rural water supplies, municipal water plants, island water supplies, and emergency disaster relief water supplies may encounter sudden high turbidity issues. While conventional processes and stable water sources perform well, they are prone to problems such as soaring pressure differentials, poor cleaning recovery, and unstable output water when encountering short-term extreme water quality. Operational adjustments can mitigate risks, but the inherent shock resistance of the materials themselves is the fundamental guarantee for the system to cope with extreme operating conditions.

I. Challenges and Coping Guidelines Brought by Typhoons and Rainstorms

1. Dramatic fluctuations in water quality over a short period of time

Rainfall washes away surface sediment, causing raw water turbidity to increase exponentially within hours, while also introducing large amounts of humus, algae, and suspended colloids. Nearshore waters are also disturbed by storms, causing seabed sediments to rise to the surface, significantly increasing the pressure on seawater pretreatment. Some water plants already have pretreatment facilities with limited buffering capacity.

2. Membrane fouling is irreversible, leading to high maintenance costs in the later stages.

When subjected to high turbidity and high organic shocks, the differential pressure of many membrane systems rises rapidly and is difficult to recover even after conventional cleaning. The membrane elements degrade prematurely and become unusable, resulting in high replacement costs.

Guidelines for dealing with heavy rain and high turbidity raw water

Flood season operation adjustments, post-disaster recovery, and pre-disaster contingency plans

Disaster preparedness and contingency plans are in place:

• Pre-disaster preparedness plans,
• Medicine reserve,
• Instrument calibration,
• Electrical rain protection,
• Pre-setting of high oil condition operating parameter templates.

High turbidity during the flood season:

• Prioritize the effectiveness of pretreatment,
• Reduce system load when necessary,
• Avoid overloading the system to withstand the impact of raw water,
• If the pressure difference rises abnormally, clean it promptly.

Post-disaster recovery phase steadily restarted:

• Disaster subsides, recovery and clarification,
• It is forbidden to directly operate at full capacity; the processing capacity should be increased in stages. Pools and pipelines that have been submerged by floods must be flushed and disinfected, and put into operation only after the water quality has passed the test.

Pre-treatment is the first line of defense, operation and maintenance are key guarantees, and material reliability determines long-term toughness.

II. Core Advantages of Silicon Carbide Ceramic Membranes in the Face of Extreme Rainstorm Conditions

Highly resistant to cleaning and reversible pollution : Made of pure inorganic silicon carbide, it can withstand cleaning with high concentrations of acids, alkalis and oxidants. It has a high flux recovery rate after complex pollution by mud, sand and humus during rainstorms and has a low risk of irreversible pollution.

High mechanical strength and resistance to water quality shocks : It can withstand higher transmembrane pressure differences, cross-flow shear reduces the accumulation of pollutants on the membrane surface, copes with sudden surges in turbidity, and tolerates short-term drastic fluctuations in water quality.

Stable and consistently compliant water output : The interception accuracy is uniform and stable, unaffected by fluctuations in raw water quality. The turbidity of the output water is stably controlled within 0.2 NTU, continuously producing qualified drinking water with strong water supply reliability.

Material safety with no risk of leaching : High-temperature sintering is a pure inorganic process with no polymer additives, eliminating the risk of PFAS and microplastic leaching and meeting drinking water safety standards.

Long lifespan and adaptable to diverse operation and maintenance : The membrane elements have a long service life and can be equipped with automatic cleaning and remote monitoring, making them suitable for different operation and maintenance conditions such as municipal, rural, and emergency applications.

III. Engineering Practice and Multi-Scenario Implementation Verification

The working toughness and effluent stability of silicon carbide ceramic membranes are not just parameters on paper in the laboratory, but have been applied in various water supply scenarios in China and have undergone real-world testing under rainy seasons, typhoons, and seasonal water quality fluctuations.

990m³/d Rural Drinking Water Ceramic Membrane Expansion Project

A 30,000 m³/d drinking water project at a drinking water plant in Shijiazhuang

A 6000 m³/d drinking water plant in Zhejiang Bid raising project

A water-saving demonstration project in a university town in Fujian Province

30m³/d silicon carbide ceramic membrane agricultural drinking water system project

50m³/d silicon carbide ceramic membrane agricultural drinking water system project

500m³/d Silicon Carbide Ceramic Membrane Agricultural Drinking Water System Project

Rural drinking water supply project in a county in Fujian Province

Conclusion

On sunny days with stable water sources, the difference may not be apparent; however, extreme rainstorms and typhoons are the true "stress test" for water treatment equipment. Pretreatment processes, on-site operation and maintenance, and membrane material performance are all indispensable. Good materials don't just mean they can ignore poor influent conditions; rather, they provide the system with higher safety redundancy and ensure a stable and reliable water supply when water quality fluctuates drastically.

1. What water quality problems caused by heavy rain have you encountered in your projects? Feel free to leave a comment and share your experiences.

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