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Wastewater Treatment Adding UV Disinfection

Davenport Wastewater Treatment Adding UV Disinfection
Posted on 12/15/2021
Davenport Wastewater Treatment Adding UV Disinfection

12/15/21
Construction of the ultraviolet (UV) treatment facility at #Davenport’s regional Water Pollution Control Plant is nearly complete! Staff has finished training and is working through the 60-day operational testing period as we speak.  By April 1, the system will be used to further treat wastewater before returning it to the Mississippi River. What you flush down the toilet, we treat and clean, and return to the Mississippi cleaner than the river itself.

Once fully operational, UV disinfection will be performed March 15th to November 15th every year.

07/19/20
Davenport’s improvements to wastewater treatment are nearly 75% complete. By the beginning of 2022, what you flush down the toilet and we treat and clean before returning it to the Mississippi River will be cleaner than the Mississippi itself. The facility has been constructed, and new algae covers are in place to stop algae growth on the clarifiers and UV equipment. The remaining work includes painting, HVAC, controls, and installation of 528 5FT, 600 watt UV lamps.

UV is pretty self-explanatory in the cleaning process, but you might be wondering what the algae covers on the clarifiers are for. Sunlight and nutrients at certain stages in the wastewater treatment process can result in algae growth along the clarifier perimeter. These covers will prevent algae growth and ensure ultraviolet light can penetrate wastewater being processed at the UV stage.  

11/19/20
The Davenport Water Pollution Control, or Wastewater Treatment, Plant is currently undergoing upgrades to install a 55 M Gallon ultraviolet (UV) disinfection facility.

When complete in March of 2022, water leaving secondary treatment will be further treated by passing through ultraviolet light for increased pollutant removal rates before being returned back to the Mississippi River.

Construction of the facility was necessary to meet the new Iowa Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) water quality standards to release treated wastewater.  The project will cost 7.3 M to construct and is a more sustainable and environmentally friendly solution to wastewater treatment than other options such as adding chemicals and chlorination.  Studies showed that not only was UV treatment a more environmentally friendly and safer solution but a more cost-effective option over time.

Once the UV facility is in operation, the regional wastewater treatment facility will return water to the Mississippi River cleaner than the receiving waters themselves.

Cool stuff for Davenport and the future of our nation’s water assets.