UV Disinfection for Canadian Drinking Water Plant

WEDECO UV reactors at Seymour-Capilano Filtration Plant save on costs and ensure proper disinfection for new facility. With a capacity to treat up to 1.8 billion liters per day of water, the largest ultraviolet (UV) disinfection facility for drinking water in the world – the Seymour-Capilano Filtration Plant – became fully operational earlier this year with UV disinfection reactions from ITT Corporation at its core. ITT supplied 24 of its WEDECO K 143 Series UV light disinfection reactors to the state-of-the-art plant, which was completed in time for the 2010 Winter Olympics held in the Vancouver area in February, and celebrated during a ceremony in the second quarter.

ITT was chosen in late 2004 to introduce UV disinfection technology to the plant based largely on a much lower life cycle cost of the WEDECO system over competing brands. This included operation and maintenance as well as energy efficiency savings. The WEDECO system uses approximately two-thirds less energy than comparable medium pressure UV systems.

"Each reactor has a capacity of about 20 million gallons per day (MGD). Every reactor has exactly 48 lamps in four rows of 12, with additional space for a fifth row for future expansion,“ said Paul Donnini, managing director for ITT’s Water & Wastewater business in Canada. Validated according to U.S. Environmental Protection Agency guidelines, the WEDECO K Series of UV reactors are for large flow drinking water applications. The WEDECO Spektrotherm® lamps are powered by the latest electronic ballast technology designed specifically for this lamp and
controlled by a highly selective calibrated UV intensity sensor that allows for significantly lower energy costs. It also decreases the overall chemical use in drinking water.

Located in the Greater Vancouver Regional District (GVRD) of British Columbia, the facility draws its water from the Seymour and Capilano reservoirs. Along with the Coquitlam Reservoir – all fed by namesake mountain watersheds north of Vancouver – these reservoirs supply the water for 2 million residents in the region. About 70 percent of the area‘s drinking water needs are met by the Seymour and Capilano watersheds.