MAGNA, UT — The Magna Water District has brought two new drinking and wastewater treatment technologies online at its Barton Well Field treatment facility, according to the district, which showcased the technologies during a September 3 ribbon-cutting ceremony.

General Manager Edwin J. Hansen said in an August 27 district release that the technologies, developed by the Magna Water District and Carollo Engineers, work in tandem to treat drinking water and provide a reusable water resource for secondary irrigation. Hansen spearheaded the project.

The drinking water treatment facility uses electrodialysis reversal (EDR) to reduce arsenic and address other contaminants in the groundwater supply. Rick D. Wheadon, P.E., partner at Carollo Engineers, Utah branch, said the EDR process uses an adjustable DC electric field, which is applied across ion exchange membranes, or resins, to remove unwanted particles from the water. Water does not pass through EDR membranes; only salts are removed. According to Wheadon, an additional benefit is an improved water quality and taste.

A newly patented process used by the district for bioremediation is called BIOBROx, an acronym for “biodestruction of blended residual oxidants.” Developed by Hansen, Wheadon, and Jess C. Brown, Ph.D., P.E., of Carollo Engineers, this process treats the water from the EDR process, converting it to a source that may ultimately be used for secondary water reuse applications and groundwater aquifer recharge.

The BIOBROx technology was developed to treat contaminants in the water supply caused by years of nearby industrial activity that could affect one of the district’s well fields.

Brown, based at Carollo, Sarasota, FL, is quoted in the release saying that since the conceptualization of the BIOBROx process six years ago, the team has spent substantial time and energy brainstorming, testing, tweaking, retesting, and fine-tuning the idea to ensure the delivery of a “highly efficient, sustainable contaminant treatment process.” He explained that the patent and the full-scale demonstration facility at Magna are the culmination of the combined effort and provide important validation of their work.

According to Brown, as “green” water treatment philosophies gain traction and regulatory residual handling constraints tighten, the use of biological drinking water treatment technologies and processes will become worldwide.

Alder Construction, Salt Lake City, UT, was the general contractor on the project.

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