Petersen-GPM worked closely with the owner/manager of the "B" Vineyards & Habitat  multi-home estate to retrofit a water system initially installed in the 1990s.  The historical use of the property was as a raw-milk dairy beginning in the 1930s. Now it is a organic/biodynamically farmed vineyard and open space habitat with an active farmstay residential program. The well providing domestic water to the homes is one that has serviced the dairys since the 60s and produces a  very high flow of water used for landscaping and domestic residential use.  Like most properties west of highway 116 in the Sebastopol, West Sonoma County area the water has a very high iron content and is somewhat acidic. The original system first stored and filtered well water in a 4500 gallon tank using an ozone bubbler and  suspended paper filter system. A sand filter was added by the owner in an attempt to increase the capacity and speed of filtration. But the system could not always keep up with demand and the tank was collecting iron residue and the pressure tanks and sand filter system were fouled. The water softening system was compromised as the backwashing was innadequate and sometimes failed. The residences often experienced cloudy water and iron staining and corrosion of fixures, showers, sinks, tile and toilets. The poor water quality contributed to the premature failure of hydronic heating manifolds  and water heaters in the main residences. Under counter filters were helpful for clearing up drinking water but were  very slow and required frequent maintenance.  Upon testing the residential water, the well, flow and the well water at the source itself, it was determined that it would be more efficient to treat and remove the dissolved iron in the water first as it flowed from the well before it was stored in the holding tank. The original media and softener filter tanks were pressure cleaned for continued use but were upgraded with larger diameter piping and higher capacity controllers to meet increased demand. In this manner iron in solution could be removed much more efficiently before it became oxidized in the storage tank. Once in the tank, ozone is introduced into the water and a final filtration system scrubs and removes any residual amounts of iron. Backflushing of the filter and media tanks is  automatically controlled by timers set according to the calculated demand and measured flow of the system. An electronic selenoid valve shuts off flow into the storage tank during backflushing or power outages that occasionally occur during bad weather periods in this part of the county. Finally a  high capacity Ultra Violet light unit treats the water just before it is distributed to the residences. We also redisigned the distriubtion manifold moving it inside the water utility barn for better access and to help protect the valves from winter and springtime frosts in the low lying area of the Green Valley / Atascadero watershed. Once the new treatment/conditioning system was in place, the entire residential plumbing system was flushed and treated with a controlled flow of precisely chlorinated water to purify the 30-40 year old distribution plumbing into the residences. The owners and their property manager were able to work beside us during the retrofit to save time and labor costs on various aspects of the project, while at the same time learning and being trained in the operational and maintenance aspects of the new system. We were also able to utiize many of the major components of the original system while making it much more efficient and reliable and staying within budget.