UV Disinfection Improvements for DRWP & HCWP

The City of Columbus, Division of Water (DOW) operates three water plants to provide a safe and reliable supply of potable water to approximately 1.2 million customers in the City of Columbus and surrounding communities. Two of these plants, the Dublin Road Water Plant (DRWP) and the Hap Cremean Water Plant (HCWP), obtain their raw water from surface water sources, which can contain microbial contaminants such as Cryptosporidium.

The DRWP and the HCWP currently meet or exceed all finished water quality regulatory requirements, including treatment for Cryptosporidium. The City of Columbus Division of Water is planning to install ultraviolet (UV) disinfection at both the DRWP and HCWP to provide additional treatment for Cryptosporidium and other potential microbial contaminants. The UV process uses ultraviolet light to inactivate a range of microorganisms. By upgrading the plant with UV disinfection now, the City of Columbus will significantly enhance public health protection for its customers by providing multiple treatment barriers (coagulation/ sedimentation/ filtration, UV disinfection, and chlorine disinfection) for removal/inactivation of Cryptosporidium and other potential microbial contaminants and position itself to meet future regulatory requirements and/or changes in source water quality.

The City is currently designing the UV Disinfection Improvements for the DRWP and HCWP, which will include the following features:
• Under CIP 690535, the City will install 5 Low-Pressure High Output UV reactors at the DRWP that will be capable of providing 4-log inactivation of Cryptosporidium or more than 80 million gallons of water per day. Construction is anticipated to begin in the first quarter of 2018 and will be completed in 2020.

• Under CIP 690536, the City will install 24 Low-Pressure High Output UV reactors at the HCWP that will be capable of providing 4-log inactivation of Cryptosporidium for more than 125 million gallons of water per day. Construction is anticipated to begin in the second quarter of 2018 and will be completed in 2021.

These projects are part of the City’s continuing program to upgrade its treatment facilities to provide a safe, reliable, and cost effective source of water to its customers. Financing for both construction contracts will be provided by below-market interest rate loans obtained through the Ohio EPA’s Water Supply Revolving Loan Account (WSRLA) program.

The Ohio EPA has completed a Limited Environmental Review (LER) for both of these projects. View the DRWP LER(PDF, 614KB) or view the HCWP LER(PDF, 821KB) of "Notice of Issuance of a Limited Environmental Review and Final Finding of No Significant Impact to All Interested Citizens, Organizations and Government Agencies" for these projects.  

If you have any questions concerning these projects, please contact City Project Manager C.R. Weaver, P.E., in the Technical Support Section of the Division of Water, at 614-645-7100.