Looking to be at the forefront of advanced water treatment (AWT) and reuse in Pennsylvania, the University Area Joint Authority (UAJA) wanted to upgrade its disinfection process for its water reuse treatment system. In its current state, the disinfection process was nearing the end of its useful life and consistently incurred excessive operating costs. The planned upgrades promised dramatically reduced costs and improved water quality for reuse in the State College area.

RETTEW evaluated, designed, permitted, and bid a cost-effective disinfection process upgrade that better controlled biofouling and offered other water treatment advantages as well. The selected disinfection technology’s benefits could include, for example, a potential reduction in the current annual operating costs from $300,000 to $40,000 with an expected payback period of three years. The technology could also reduce the concentrations of emerging contaminants to levels below future proposed regulatory standards. Lastly, the technology could likely be the first advanced oxidation process unit installed in Pennsylvania for the control of biofouling, treatment of emerging contaminants, and production of high-quality treated effluent for reuse. RETTEW’s extensive design expertise with membrane treatment systems and associated disinfection technologies, and our direct experience in AWT systems, will ultimately bring added value to both UAJA and residents of the State College area.