Challenge
Located in Southern California, this water utility uses wells to store water. These same wells are also used for fire protection. which is especially critical during the summer months. The supply covers about 10,000 customer connections with chloraminated water for residual disinfection, with chlorine and ammonia boosting in various locations. In 2010, one of the wells was in need of a local source of disinfection. They consulted a Wallace & Tiernan® manufacturer‘s representative in their region. The site manager decided to contract with Evoqua Water Technologies to install an OSEC® Hypochlorite Generation system.
The well was already in operation, with chlorine and ammonia pumped from a remote site over two miles from the well. A new building was constructed to accommodate the OSEC plant. As this was an unmanned site without constant supervision, the fail-safe reliability and automated disinfection process that the OSEC hypochlorite generation system can provide was required. Additionally, the facility is located in a populated commercial and residential area which requires elimination of any potential hazards associated with transport and handling of chlorine gas. The team managed to deliver this project under severe time constraints as the order for the system was placed in February 2010 with a delivery request of June 1st and the system required to be fully operational by July to provide for the additional water capacity needed during peak fire protection.
Solution
Evoqua supplied an OSEC® B-Pak 250 skid system that only uses salt, water and electricity to continuously deliver 0.8% sodium hypochlorite solution on-site and on-demand. The kit included the electrolyzer, control panel and transformer rectifier while the tanks, hypochlorite dosing pumps and ammonia storage feed pumps were sourced locally.
The team worked directly with the site. The demanding delivery times were achieved with this pre-wired, pre-piped, fully functional skid that reduces installation time to minimum. The Water Utility was satisfied to see this fast cycle project delivered in time and operational by July 7th, only five months since initial conception.
Results
The OSEC B-Pak 250 system has now eliminated the need for a large pump system for the chlorination of the wells. The new system has provided the ability to chlorinate the well locally in a safe and efficient way. There are no concerns regarding management of chemicals, as salt does not require any special handling and is easy to store. This site benefits from the OSEC system's perfect safety record, and the unique electrolyzer cell design that is very robust and easy to service. The entire skid is composed of high-quality equipment and built to withstand both municipal and industrial settings.