UV rays are used to treat water, kill 'nasty little bugs'
Tuesday, March 28, 2006
BY MIKE FRASSINELLI
Star-Ledger Staff
More than 10,000 water customers have another line of defense against potentially "nasty little bugs" in their water, now that Aqua New Jersey has built a $2.6 million treatment plant in Warren County that zaps microorganisms with ultraviolet rays.
The UV plant is being touted as the largest of its kind in New Jersey.
"This adds an extra layer of protection on water that is already meeting federal standards and state standards," Nicholas DeBe nedictis, chairman and chief executive officer of parent company Aqua America, said from the Lo patcong Township plant yesterday.
The UV light treatment is to en hance water quality for about 10,600 Aqua customers in the Phillipsburg area.
Mark A. Tompeck, vice president of design engineer Hatch Mott MacDonald of Millburn, said the light operates at a wavelength "known to inactivate the giardia and cryptosporidium and these nasty little bugs."
Ingesting those microscopic parasites can result in symptoms such as diarrhea, stomach cramps and nausea.
"Most people don't realize how safe (the) public water supply is, because there is so much that goes into treating the water and so much testing that goes on, and there's layers of treatment that go into it," Tompeck said. "A conventional surface water treatment plant, we treat it, we take out all the particulate matter and then we disinfect. In this particular case, we're disinfecting twice. And disin fection is what's helped public health tremendously."
The new facility can treat 10.5 million gallons of water a day.
Untreated water is disinfected first with chlorine, then flows through a chamber where 36 low- pressure, high-output lamps destroy potential microorganisms.
"It's really a very uncomplicated system from the standpoint of how it operates, but there are some major benefits of UV disinfection," Tompeck said. "It is the most powerful disinfectant that can be used. It's more powerful than ozone. It's more powerful than chlorine or chlorine dioxide."
The new facility is the result of discussions with the Department of Environmental Protection about a half-decade ago.
The state, which was adopting stricter water regulations, was concerned about aging pipes in Phillipsburg and the slight poten tial for a contaminated groundwater supply in the event of a flood.
A huge water treatment plant was discussed, until Aqua officials floated the idea of the plant using the UV treatment. While a traditional membrane filtration plant would cost about $12 million, the UV treatment plant cost less than a quarter of that amount and was financed by a low-interest loan from the Environmental Infrastructure Trust Fund, a state-operated fund.
"It's a big event for us," DeBe nedictis told a group that included Commissioner Connie Hughes of the New Jersey Board of Pubic Utilities. "It doesn't look like much, a building with a lot of pipes. But it is a unique expenditure for our company and also for the state."
Statewide, Aqua serves about 150,000 residents in eight counties.
Mike Frassinelli covers Warren County. He may be reached at mfras sinelli@starledger.com or (908) 475-1218
