Maintenance drops drastically with SonicPure

At Searcy Water Utilities (SWU) in Arkansas, keeping open-basin treatment systems clean used to be a nonstop battle. Biofilms would grow along basin walls, peel off in sheets, clog filters, and force staff into frequent, messy clean-ups. Each time the buildup got bad enough, crews had to shut down basins, scrub the walls, and remove sediment — costing time, money, and manpower.

Then came a simple but powerful solution: ultrasound.

The Problem: Persistent Biofilm and High Maintenance

SWU treats about 20 million gallons of water a day drawn from the Little Red River. After minerals are removed and pH adjusted, water flows through 11 open conditioning basins — each roughly 24 feet wide, 100 feet long, and 14 feet deep — where particulates settle before final filtration.

In warm summer months, biofilm growth would accelerate, coating basin walls and floating to the surface. According to former plant manager Scotty Boggs, “It looks like brown lily pads. It can block the weirs, slow flow, and even let organics through.”

Traditionally, utilities like SWU have only two choices:

1. Increase cleaning frequency (labor-intensive and disruptive), or
2. Add more chemicals (expensive and environmentally undesirable).

Boggs preferred to minimize chemical use — so when he encountered SonicPure at a water-quality conference promoting ultrasonic solutions for algae and biofilm control, he decided to give it a try.

The Solution: SonicPure Ultrasound Technology

In 2016, Boggs installed ultrasound units in two of SWU’s 11 basins and used a third as a control. The setup was simple — the units were plug-and-play, with no maintenance or chemical additives required.

By the end of the summer, results were clear: the ultrasound-equipped basins had significantly less biofilm and required far fewer cleanings. The success led SWU to expand the system to all 11 basins.

In 2018, SWU upgraded to SonicPure’s next-generation wide-frequency units, capable of targeting multiple biofilm and algae types while consuming less power.

The Results: Cleaner Basins, Lower Costs, and Happier Operators

Before ultrasound, SWU had to shut down and scrub each basin every 30 days during peak summer months. With SonicPure units in place, the cleaning interval has doubled to about 60 days, saving labor hours and improving operational efficiency.

“From an operator’s standpoint, nothing can touch it,” said Boggs. “It’s not chemical, there’s no residual product, no maintenance issues. We just plug it in and forget it.”

Even the Arkansas Department of Health praised the technology as an innovative and safe approach to biofilm management.

Cleaner Water, Less Effort

Today, Searcy Water Utilities continues to rely on ultrasound to keep basins cleaner, longer. The technology has reduced maintenance demands, improved water clarity, and provided a cost-effective, chemical-free method of maintaining a safe, reliable water supply.

For Boggs and his team, the math is simple:
Less cleaning, fewer chemicals, and cleaner water — all thanks to sound.

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