Sentinel Water Solutions and Perkasie Regional Authority are marking one year of successful operation of a temporary granular activated carbon (GAC) treatment system used as the Authority progresses construction of its permanent PFAS treatment facilities.
The system, deployed in 2025, has treated more than 200 million gallons of drinking water. Sentinel supplied the temporary treatment equipment, allowing Perkasie to begin PFAS treatment a year before completion of its first permanent facility.
Perkasie chose to operate temporary treatment alongside its larger capital project rather than wait for construction of the permanent plant. The approach brought forward the Authority’s PFAS compliance schedule while permanent improvements were being designed and constructed.
Andrew Strassner, President of Sentinel Water Solutions, commented: “What makes this project exciting is that the temporary system wasn’t simply a bridge until the permanent plant was completed.
“Now the carbon that helped expedite compliance can become part of the Authority’s long-term reactivation programme. It’s a great example of how utilities can address an immediate compliance need without losing sight of the long-term operating strategy.”
Temporary GAC system brings PFAS treatment forward
Sentinel provided four DESOTEC Mobicon vessels, each pre-loaded with approximately 10,000 pounds of NSF-certified granular activated carbon.
The installation also included an automated booster pump skid and pressure-control improvements to connect the rental equipment with Perkasie’s existing infrastructure.
After a year of operation, the project is demonstrating how temporary treatment can form part of a utility’s longer-term treatment strategy rather than being viewed solely as an interim measure.
The original installation was designed with future GAC reactivation in mind, allowing the carbon used in the temporary system to retain value beyond its initial deployment.
Used carbon set for future reactivation
The GAC currently operating in the rental system is planned to become the foundation of Perkasie’s GAC reactivation pool.
As carbon is removed from service, it can be reactivated for future use. This will create an inventory of Authority-owned reactivated granular activated carbon that can ultimately be deployed in the permanent PFAS treatment facility.
The strategy allows Perkasie to carry value from the temporary system into its permanent treatment programme while reducing reliance on virgin carbon and supporting a more sustainable lifecycle approach to PFAS treatment.
Sentinel’s partnership with DESOTEC provides NSF-certified GAC reactivation and carbon inventory management, supporting the approach established for the project from the outset.
“Perkasie’s proactive approach a year ago allowed treatment to begin a year ahead of schedule,” Strassner added. “Reaching 200 million gallons is an important milestone, but the bigger success is that the interim solution is becoming part of the permanent solution.”
Interim GAC system feeds into long-term strategy
The Perkasie project shows how rapidly deployable rental treatment can provide an interim path to PFAS compliance while permanent facilities are designed and constructed.
It also demonstrates how planning the use and future reactivation of treatment media can allow investments made during a temporary treatment period to continue providing value once a permanent PFAS treatment facility comes online.
