Aquionics UV disinfection systems are producing significant energy and maintenance savings for the City of Silverton wastewater treatment plant.
SILVERTON, ORE, JAN 18, 2019 -- Ultraviolet (UV) disinfection systems from Aquionics are producing significant energy and maintenance savings for a wastewater treatment plant in the City of Silverton, Oregon. The facility collects all the residential, commercial and industrial wastewater produced by the city, and the treated effluent is then reused to irrigate a nearby botanical garden in a project that has won a national award.
The Silverton Wastewater Treatment Plant comprises several traditional wastewater treatment technologies, including secondary treatment by activated sludge, clarification, and disinfection using UV. The city's National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit has stringent standards for effluent treatment and discharge, and it conducts more than 3,100 laboratory tests each year on wastewater throughout the treatment process to ensure that these standards are being met.
Up to one million gallons per day of treated effluent from the plant is reused for landscape irrigation at the nearby Oregon Garden, a beautiful 80-acre botanical garden that is a popular visitor attraction for locals and tourists. The wetlands formed by the treated reclaimed water is a habitat for a variety of wildlife and plants. Any treated effluent not required by Oregon Garden is returned to the local receiving stream, Silver Creek, after meeting all necessary environmental requirements.
Since the plant opened in 1999, Aquionics systems have successfully been providing UV treatment, in line with regulatory requirements. In 2018, the city's public works department opted to upgrade the UV disinfection technology at the plant, installing two Aquionics InLine 16000+ municipal UV systems. Their greater energy efficiency compared to the previous systems, which had been in place for almost 20 years, will reduce energy costs by almost $9000 per year. In addition, the enhanced chemical cleaning system of the new equipment will cut maintenance time by between 50 and 75 percent, thereby further reducing operational costs.