2019 Excellence in Environmental Engineering and Science® Awards Competition Winner

Honor Award - Research

Water Purification Technology Evaluation and R&D Testing Project

Entrant: CDM Smith
Engineer in Charge: David Prah, P.E., BCEE
Location: Jacksonville, Florida
Media Contact: Julia Forgas

Entrant Profile

JEA is the eighth largest community-owned utility in the United States and Florida's largest community-owned utility, providing water, sewer and power services to over 330,000 customers in the Jacksonville area. JEA implemented a water purification technology (WPT) program to explore new ways to prepare for the area's future water supply needs through indirect potable reuse. Phase I of the program is the WPT Evaluation and Research and Development (R&D) Testing Project, which tested two leading technologies for water purification and provided a roadmap for future phases of the project, including a Phase II demonstration facility and Phase III full-scale facility. JEA selected CDM Smith to conduct the research project.

CDM Smith is a full-service engineering and construction firm that provides lasting and integrated solutions in water, environment, transportation, energy and facilities to public and private clients worldwide. CDM Smith's staff provided all R&D plant operational services, including equipment procurement, start-up and commissioning, water quality sampling and final data reporting. Plant operators worked closely with equipment providers, including Wigen Water Technologies, Intuitech Inc., and Suez Water Technologies to ensure 24/7 operations throughout the 10-month study. Eurofins Eaton Analytical LLC performed both weekly and monthly water quality analyses of over 250 regulated and non-regulated parameters. The Dalton Agency, New Water Resources and Katz and Associates helped JEA and CDM Smith develop an outreach campaign geared toward public education and acceptance. Through the partnership of these stakeholders, JEA is providing leadership and driving innovation for potable reuse in Florida.

Project Description

Interest in water reuse technologies is growing as the demand for potable water approaches the limit of conventional water supplies. The Floridan aquifer is the primary water supply for over 330,000 customers in Jacksonville, Florida. With a growing population and economy, potable water demands are anticipated to increase. The local utility company, JEA, proactively launched a three-phased, multi-year water purification technology (WPT) program to evaluate potable reuse for aquifer recharge.

Phase I of JEA's program is research and development (R&D) to evaluate and compare the treatment performance of two competing water purification technologies:

Ultrafiltration followed by low pressure reverse osmosis and advanced oxidation processes (UF-LPRO-AOP)
Ozonation followed by biologically active filtration and AOP (Ozone-BAF-AOP)

These two systems operated in parallel at two different water reclamation facilities (WRFs) for approximately 5 months each.

Phase I culminated in the identification of the most technically and economically viable treatment process for JEA's subsequent phases of the program: UF-LPRO-AOP. Phase II will implement the selected process for a 0.5-million-gallon-per-day (mgd) demonstration facility. Phase III involves a commercial-scale facility, producing 10-50 mgd of purified water.

An Integrated Approach

A turnkey R&D system delivered comprehensive results for JEA. This included design of both treatment systems, full procurement of the R&D plant equipment, and development of an experimental design and testing protocol for a variety of conditions at two WRFs. CDM Smith staff provided all R&D plant operational services, including start-up and commissioning at both WRFs, water quality sampling, and additional operational support beyond basic troubleshooting and maintenance necessary for continuous operation. In addition to monitoring approximately 77 regulated contaminants, more than 250 unregulated parameters were analyzed during sampling events to provide a comprehensive assessment of the source and purified water quality.

Quality Results

Thorough testing and organization ensured quality. CDM Smith provided detailed project planning and schedules, test protocols, experienced operations staff, and a comprehensive data reporting criteria modification process. The project team worked closely with JEA staff to understand operations at the full-scale WRF to overcome challenges associated with potable reuse R&D piloting.

Dual-facility testing strategy yielded decisive treatment observations. The R&D facility was tested at two WRFs to directly evaluate treatment performance with two distinctly different wastewater effluents. The Southwest WRF was considered more traditional with primarily domestic sources, while the Buckman WRF treated daily influxes of landfill leachate and received significant flows from industrial users across a range of sectors, including the fragrance industry and steel manufacturing industry.

Conclusions

UF-LPRO-AOP met and exceeded all water quality goals, including primary and secondary drinking water standards and water quality goals for currently unregulated parameters.
Ozone-BAF-AOP met primary and secondary drinking water standards and water quality goals for unregulated parameters at Southwest WRF. The Ozone-BAF-AOP system was challenged with meeting several secondary drinking water standards at Buckman WRF, including manganese, total dissolved solids and chloride at Buckman WRF.

Data from Phase I allowed JEA to optimize the treatment processes and provided critical design and operational information for future WPT facilities. Due to the characteristics of the source waters tested, the UF-LPRO-AOP process produced higher quality purified water compared with the Ozone-BAF-AOP process, exhibited more reliable operation and was less subject to variations in source water quality. Based on this comparison and lifecycle cost estimates, CDM Smith recommended the UF-LPRO-AOP system for future phases of the WPT program.

Originality and Innovation

Pioneering study enhances the potable reuse industry's grasp of two leading technologies by testing them side-by-side at two different WRFs. The Ozone-BAF-AOP treatment process, while widely used in the drinking water industry, is just beginning to warrant consideration in the potable reuse arena. The primary advantage of the Ozone-BAF-AOP treatment system compared with UF-LPRO-AOP is that Ozone-BAF-AOP does not produce concentrate. The cost and environmental concerns associated with concentrate management can impose limitations for some utilities.

Multi-year outreach campaign gained public trust. Earning and maintaining the community's trust as it relates to water supply and public health is a top priority. CDM Smith helped JEA develop a rigorous, multi-year public outreach campaign early in Phase I to clearly explain the treatment processes and safeguards for protecting public health. More than 250 people toured the R&D plant, including elected officials, university students, regulatory agencies, water operators from neighboring counties and local news agencies. A baseline JEA customer survey performed by CDM Smith and the Dalton Agency gauged the community's understanding and attitude towards potable reuse. Surveys will continue to be used throughout the WPT program.

Complexity of the Problem

Custom, 22-week plan ensured sound testing of each process system and individual parameters. Carefully selected conditions for each unit process maximized data collection to achieve primary test objectives, demonstrate the efficacy and robustness of individual unit process, and optimize parameters that significantly influence capital and/or operations and maintenance (O&M) costs (e.g., chemical dosages, overflow rates, media type, flux rates, operating pressures). To understand which water purification process systems met water quality goals for aquifer recharge, a thorough water quality sampling plan was developed to fully characterize the nature of the source and treated water, including a suite of regulated and non-regulated parameters (e.g., terpenes and fragrances, pharmaceuticals, pesticides and herbicides).

Contribution to Social or Economic Advancement

WPT program underscores importance of aquifer recharge to United States water supply sustainability. Florida state legislators, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, Florida's water management districts, and local municipalities and utilities have realized the need for alternative water supplies and are working to enact policies that will help expand potable reuse. This project demonstrates the feasibility of integrating alternative water supplies, such as indirect potable reuse, into a diverse portfolio of water resource supply options. Additional benefits of JEA's WPT program included more integrated planning, improved environmental sustainability and an informed public.

What's next? R&D testing concluded in September 2018 with the selection of UF-LPRO-AOP for Phases II and III. CDM Smith recently published the final technical report, which documents the testing, water quality results, capital and O&M cost estimates, and provides a recommended strategy for full-scale implementation.

Click images to enlarge in separate window.


Research and development was conducted for two different water purification process systems – UF-RO-AOP and Ozone-BAF-AOP	The two treatment systems were tested side-by-side in this trailer set up. The Ozone-BAF system was tested in the blue trailer on the left and the UF-RO system was tested in the white trailer on the right. After 19 weeks of R&D testing at the Southwest Water Reclamation Facility (WRF), the trailers were then transported to the Buckman WRF where testing occurred for an additional 18 weeks.

A third trailer contained ultraviolet-advanced oxidation process (UV-AOP) equipment. Here, the team collected water quality monitoring samples, filling 4 to 5 coolers with samples for each unit process every week. Weekly sample collection and analysis continued for approximately 10 months (5 months at each WRF).	Inside the ozonation-biologically active filtration (Ozone-BAF) equipment trailer, 4 BAF columns were filled with different filter media types and different filter loading rates, allowing optimization of operating parameters (i.e., media type, empty bed contact time, surface loading rate, etc.). Pneumatic valves on the BAF columns allowed for columns to be operated in series or parallel, offering greater operational flexibility.

The BAF columns were filled with granular activated carbon (GAC) and anthracite filter media. Each column was equipped with sample ports allowing operators to collect samples and monitor breakthrough.	Inside the Ozone-BAF trailer, the operator took daily measurements of UV 254 on the source water and effluent from the BAF columns. UV 254 was used as an on-site surrogate measurement for total organic carbon concentration.

Also inside the Ozone-BAF equipment trailer, operators collected on-site water quality samples daily and monitored for pH, temperature, conductivity, iron, UV 254, and more. Samples of the influent and treated water from each column were analyzed. This information helped operators gather new data and confirm measurements from in-line instruments.	Flocculation-sedimentation was used as a pretreatment step for the Ozone-BAF system. This picture shows the sedimentation basin, along with the chemical storage metering pumps and operator interface panels.

A series of jar tests were conducted on the R&D plant source water to determine the optimal coagulant dose, and to evaluate the effect of other parameters such as polymer addition, settled water pH, coagulant type, etc.	Inside the ultrafiltration-reverse osmosis (UF-RO) equipment trailer, the operator recorded daily measurements of total chlorine on the feed water to the UF system.

During startup of the UF-RO system, new reverse osmosis elements were installed, as well as an in-line total organic carbon (TOC) analyzer. In-line TOC analyzers are not widely used, and this innovative instrument helped operators monitor treatment performance in real time.	Sulfuric acid and antiscalant were injected upstream of the RO system to reduce the feed water pH and help prevent scaling of the RO system.

Throughout the duration of Phase I testing, more than 250 JEA personnel, community leaders, elected officials, university students, regulatory agencies, water operators from neighboring counties and local news agencies visited the R&D plant at the Southwest WRF and Buckman WRF. Opening the doors for guided public tours gave people the opportunity to ask questions, learn about the WPT program and see the water purification technologies first-hand.	Samples of water collected throughout the UF-RO system helped show visitors how the final product, RO permeate, compares in cleanliness to tap water.

A graph from the research report shows a breakdown by category of over 250 currently unregulated parameters that were analyzed throughout the R&D project at the Buckman WRF. As shown in the graph, both water treatment processes tested effectively removed a wide array of trace organic parameters.	The Water Purification Technology Evaluation and R&D Testing Project was highlighted at the JAX Infrastructure Innovation Summit in October 2018, which was attended by over 800 people. Several hundred people sampled the purified water from the project and learned about the treatment processes from the project's team. Pictured here L-R: Melissa Dykes (JEA President and COO) and Greg Strong (Director of the FDEP Northeast District)