Xylem Selected to Provide Advanced UV Disinfection Technology to Support First UV Drinking Water Treatment Application in Florida

Cryptosporidium is the leading cause of waterborne disease outbreaks in the United States (U.S.), impacting almost 750,000 people each year with potentially severe symptoms. As the chlorine-resistant cryptosporidium parasite is easily inactivated with a low ultraviolet (UV) dose, many drinking water plant operators are turning to UV disinfection to provide safe drinking water for their communities.

Xylem has secured a contract to supply its advanced Wedeco LBX Series UV disinfection system to heighten protection against cryptosporidium at the City of West Palm Beach Water Treatment Plant – the first plant in Florida to add UV disinfection. Currently producing 47 million gallons of water per day (MGD), the facility treats water from East Clear Lake for potable use by the City of West Palm Beach and surrounding communities, including a number of critical medical facilities. Upon completion of the major upgrade project, the plant will serve over 110,000 people, with a maximum treatment capacity of 50 MGD.

The addition of Xylem’s Wedeco UV treatment solution will enhance the treatment plant’s protection against cryptosporidium, providing 100 percent redundancy in the disinfection process with an additional barrier to pathogens and improving the safety, reliability and quality of the water produced by the City. Furthermore, this energy efficient, cost-effective UV disinfection system will lessen the plant’s dependency on chlorine, which will positively impact the environment.

UV disinfection is a sustainable alternative to chemical-based disinfection, such as chlorine, which may create harmful disinfection by-products. Xylem will provide six Wedeco LBX 1500e UV disinfection systems installed in parallel. Designed for medium to large-scale wastewater treatment plants, industrial and water reuse applications, Xylem’s Wedeco LBX UV system was the first closed-vessel, low pressure, high output amalgam UV system in the world to obtain Title 22 acceptance from the California State Water Resources Control Board’s Division of Drinking Water.

Greg Claffey, Director of Treatment Sales with Xylem’s North America business added, “Our focus at Xylem is on helping customers to build resilient water infrastructure that ensures clean water supply to the public continuously and reliably in all conditions. As drinking water providers across the U.S. seek to heighten protection of drinking water supplies against cryptosporidium, we are pleased to be supporting this effort with our reliable, sustainable and cost-effective UV disinfection solutions. Our proven Wedeco LBX 1500e UV disinfection systems, specifically designed to add 4-log protection against cryptosporidium, were selected because they deliver the lowest life-cycle cost, primarily due to the energy efficiency of the low-pressure high-output (LPHO) Wedeco Ecoray lamps and the relative low head loss of the UV reactors.”

Construction at the City of West Beach Water Treatment Plant began in 2016 and the facility is expected to enter operation in 2018.