At the recent IDET 2023, the Crystal Clear Water 10 000 (CCW 10 000) mobile water treatment plant was presented, among other things. This is a joint project between TATRA DEFENCE VEHICLE (TDV), HUTIRA and KARBOX, with the former being the system integrator and supplying the Tatra Phoenix container carrier, which can be equipped with a standard or armoured cab with ballistic (up to level 3) and mine protection (up to level 3) from its own development, HUTIRA provided the technology and equipment for water purification and KARBOX contributed a special ISO container and hook loader to the project. The CCW 10 000 is designed to supply clean drinking water in military and peacekeeping operations, natural disasters and in areas characterized by a lack of natural drinking water resources.

Picture: Mobile water treatment plant CCW 10 000 on Tatra Phoenix 8x8 chassis | TDV

Drinking water is absolutely crucial for both the military and the civilian population and should therefore be provided as a matter of priority. When sufficient drinking water cannot be made available in a domestic or foreign military mission, armies use mobile water treatment plants, which usually draw water from streams, rivers, lakes, ponds, etc. in their area of operation.

Regarding the operation of the CCW 10 000 mobile water treatment plant, we directly contacted the director of the water division of HUTIRA, Mr. Petr Hajný, at IDET, who confirmed that the system is able to treat water primarily from surface water (lakes, ponds, rivers), but also from groundwater. According to Hajný, the robustness of the mobile treatment plant is based on the fact that surface water is often variable and problematic in terms of high turbidity.

Picture: Mobile water treatment plant CCW 10 000 at IDET 2023 | Michal Pivoňka / CZ DEFENCE

The basic element is the clarifier, where, through kinetic processes and dosing chemistry, the suspended solids (turbidity) that are abundant in surface waters are removed. The clarified water then passes on to a storage tank which is connected to a system of pressure filters with different fillings (activated carbon, zeolite). In the final stage, the water is then disinfected by means of a UV lamp and a dosage of sodium hypochlorite to further preserve the treated water.

The mobile treatment has a maximum filtration capacity of 10,000 litres per hour (hence the designation CCW 10,000) within the average pollution of the source water (lakes, ponds or rivers where there is no visible form of wastewater). The size of the mobile treatment plant is determined by the dimensions of the standardised ISO 1C container, which is commonly used in the military and civilian sectors.

According to Director Hajný, HUTIRA's mobile water treatment plants have already had a number of positive references within the civilian sector. To create a system suitable for use in the military sector, TDV, HUTIRA and KARBOX joined forces and the result of their cooperation in the form of the CCW 10 000 was presented at IDET. A similar project is currently being implemented in Ghana, Africa, and smaller treatment plants based on the same principle are already in use in Pakistan and Vietnam. A trolley treatment plant using the same technology but with less power is also in Qatar. Incidentally, a cart-based water treatment plant on a military chassis from Agados is now also operating in Ukraine.

Picture: The hook loader for the CCW 10 000 system can also be controlled remotely | Michal Pivoňka / CZ DEFENCE

Technical parameters of the water treatment plant:

Maximum output: 10 000 l/hr.
Minimum electrical input: 7 kW
Number of people that can be supplied at a consumption of 5 l per person: over 45,000
Volume of treated water per 24 h: approx. 230 000 litres
ISO 1C container dimensions (length/width/height in mm): 6050/2435/2435
Weight: approx. 5 t

Picture: The size of the mobile treatment plant is determined by the standardized ISO 1C container, which is commonly used in the military and civilian sector. The CCW 10 000 system is transportable with a powerful hook loader on proven Tatra Force (pictured) or Phoenix 6x6 or 8x8 chassis | TDV