Water Treatment Plant Ion Exchange ProjectLocation: City of Bunnell, FloridaPlant Capacity:1,000,000 gallons per dayEffluent Quality: » Turbidity < 1 NTU» Total Trihalomethanes <80 ug/L

(micrograms per liter)» Hardness < 250 mg/L

Facility Online: 2015Construction Cost $4.83 Million Funded: USDA RD Grant $1.48 Million; USDA RD Loan: $2.8 Million; SRF Loan: $1 Million Engineer: McKim & Creed, Inc.Contractor: TLC Diversified, Inc.Ion Exchange Equipment Supplier: IXOMFilter Supplier: WesTech

The Ion-Exchange System – including (from top, clockwise) fresh resin tank; contactor; regen tanks; brine waste tank; brine tank.

The City of Bunnell constructs state-of-the-art Ion Exchange System to address disinfection by-products and water hardness issues. Organic material, known as NOM (natural organic matter), exists in the City’s groundwater supply. The NOM leads to the generation of disinfection by-products (DBPs) when the water is disinfected with chlorine. The level of DBPs is regulated by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the levels had exceeded the regulatory limit of 80 ug/L. The EPA issued a consent order for the City to update the water treatment process to comply with the regulatory requirements. The City took immediate action and undertook an evaluation to comply with the EPA and to provide the residents with the highest quality water at the lowest price.

In addition to the DBP limit, city water customers had historically dealt with very hard water which limited the generation of suds, left residue on dishes and created soap scum. The evaluation process resulted in the recommendation for the state-of-the-art Ion Exchange system that uses the first full-scale treatment process to address both the DBPs and the water hardness in a single process. The system was pilot tested prior to construction to ensure the process would meet all the water quality goals and requirements, while ensuring a future-proof water supply to city water customers.

Highlights (Impact on Community):• Improving Water Quality: City water customers will notice

significant improvements to water quality that will result in better tasting, clearer water.

• Reliable System: The new water plant has built in redundancy to ensure water customers demands will be met at all times, even during extended power outages.

• Softer Water: City water customers will use less laundry detergent, soap, dishwasher detergent, shampoo, etc. Water customers will notice less soap scum and fewer deposits on glassware after dishwashing.

• State-of-the-Art: The water treatment plant includes a fully automated computerized control system that provides additional assurance to water customers. For example, if the computerized control system senses that the water is out of compliance, it will automatically adjust and bring the water back into compliance to ensure the water customers always receive the best tasting, softest water possible and highest quality of water from the system.

• Improved Appliance Life Span: Hard water can damage household appliances such as water heaters, dishwashers, plumbing fixtures and pipes. The softer water will improve appliance life.

• The Ion-Exchange System (rendering on previous page) – including (from top, clockwise) fresh resin tank; contactor; regen tanks; brine waste tank; brine tank.

• The multi-media filter includes separate layers of media to remove particulate matter and polish the water. (Illustration A)

• Automatic valves on filter piping are connected to a computerized control system. (Photo B)

• Similar to household water softening, the resin is regenerated in the tanks shown in the background using a salt water solution – the salt used is exactly the same as in a household water softener.

• Includes raw water transfer pumps, clearwell, clearwell pumps, disinfection facilities, facility automation and site improvements.

Project Features

(A)

(B)

OCT 2011 Consent Order Issued

MARCH 2014 Design Completed

JULY 2014 Construction Began

OCT 2015 Plant Went On-Line

DEC 2015 Final Completion

TIMELINE WITH KEY ITEMS