Case Study: Poughkeepsie
UV Disinfection Stands the Test of Time
It is now three years since Poughkeepsies' Water Treatment Facility
in New York installed six Aquionics' ultraviolet disinfection systems
for drinking water treatment.
"We get approximately 5,000 hours of lamp life per UV system, but a few lamps have run for as long as 11,000 hours, which is excellent," commented Paul Lill, the facility's plant manager. "This means we only have to change the lamps about once a year while also reducing our running costs – always an important consideration."
Aquionics UV disinfection systems at Poughkeepsies' Water Treatment Facility, NY.
Poughkeepsies’ Water Treatment Facility serves nearly 80,000 customers, drawing water from the Hudson River to meet an average daily demand of 10.5 million gallons per day. Prior to installing the equipment in March 2005, chlorination was used in open settling basins, followed by filtration.
The UV treatment equipment significantly reduced the amount of chlorine required for primary disinfection and lowered disinfection byproducts by up to 20 percent. Secondary, residual disinfection is provided by chloramines. The resulting disinfection levels comply with the new guidelines of the Surface Water Treatment Rule issued by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
The UV systems are downstream of the filters and operate in parallel. The medium pressure, closed channel design disinfects with far fewer lamps and with a much smaller footprint than comparable low-pressure systems. Each chamber is fitted with UV monitors to measure actual UV fluence and dose for record keeping.
To keep maintenance low, the systems are equipped with automatic cleaning mechanisms that keep the lamp sleeves free of organic deposits. When the lamps need replacing, it is a simple operation carried out by on-site staff.
Aquionics is based in Erlanger, Ky.