How Ozone Can Contribute to a Future-Proof Municipal Water Treatment System
Most municipal water treatment facilities in the US and Canada are designed for a life expectancy of 30 to 50 years. The changing environment and the need to protect it are now significantly influencing infrastructure design to ensure it is sustainable, resilient and adaptable for the future. Sustainable infrastructure is not only the environmentally right decision, but it can also deliver many cost-effective benefits to both the private and public sector. Sustainable ozone water treatment offers many economic, social and environmental benefits for municipal water treatment infrastructure design.
Ozone water treatment is chemical free, energy efficient and cost effective. It is now the fastest growing technology in the global water disinfection market. Ozone is universally recognized as the most effective water disinfection technology, much more powerful than chlorine. Ozone instantly destroys the cell walls of bacteria and viruses, unlike chlorine that requires considerably greater contact time.
Ozone water treatment systems have the ability to destroy a plethora of Contaminants of Emerging Concern (CECs) including pharmaceuticals, petrochemicals, PFAs, microplastics and many more. As the spectrum of contaminants rapidly expands and water regulations become ever more stringent, ozone has the ability to adapt to meet these new complex water challenges. Ozone dosage can be adjusted and additional generators can be added on a very small footprint, typically without the need to expand existing infrastructure.
Ozone water treatment is naturally sustainable, leaving only dissolved oxygen in the effluent. The dissolved oxygen is beneficial to the marine life in the receiving waterway. This also benefits the local community enabling them to safely fish and swim in the receiving lakes and rivers.
As populations grow and water use increases, ozone treatment systems can be expanded on a relatively small footprint. This benefit enables easy expansion typically within existing infrastructure. It also reduces operational costs that may be associated with designing a system that is much larger than currently required, in anticipation of future growth. The ability to easily expand in the future, removes the stress associated with precisely forecasting population growth and associated capacity needs.
An ozone treatment system also has the capacity to easily expand and adapt to increased water flow and changing raw water quality. Climate change is resulting in flooding, stormwater surges and other erratic water treatment challenges. Ozone has the ability to easily add more capacity as well as adjust to new and changing contaminants. Ozone provides peace of mind that the new and unanticipated water treatment challenges can be solved effectively and cost effectively with environmentally friendly technology.
SUSTAINABILITY:
A set of environmental, economic, and social conditions in which all of society has the capacity and opportunity to maintain and improve its quality of life indefinitely, without degrading the quantity, quality, or availability of natural resources and ecosystems.
Ozone is produced on site, without the need for consumables (such as chlorine) and eliminates concerns about chemical supply chain shortages and increased costs. Furthermore, there are no transportation costs that are associated with the delivery of chemicals.
Ozone can contribute significantly to the ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) score of an infrastructure project as well as sustainable/ green building rating systems such as LEED and Envision. Envision is a rating system for civil infrastructure that many engineers and clients use to assist in designing sustainable future-proof projects such as municipal water treatment systems. It was initially developed for the US and Canada but can be adapted to other countries.
Envision was created in joint collaboration with the Zofnass Program for Sustainable Infrastructure at the Harvard University Graduate School of Design and The Institute for Sustainable Infrastructure (ISI). ISI is an educational and research focused not for profit founded by the American Public Works Association, The American Council of Engineering Companies and the American Society of Civil Engineers. Envision Canada is a partnership with ISI and the Canadian Society for Civil Engineering, with the purpose of advancing sustainable infrastructure practices using the Envision framework.
The Envision system is the foremost comprehensive tool to assist in the design and execution of sustainable civil infrastructure that can meet the long-term needs associated with increased population, climate change and environmental protection.
“Recognizing that many of our resources are finite and that development has environmental, social, and economic consequences, we have come to realize that it is not enough to create infrastructure that is intelligently designed, well-engineered, and competently constructed. It must also be sustainable. The new public mandate is to not only do the job right, but to do the right job in the first place.”
- William J. Bertera, ISI President and CEO
How Ozone Applies to the Envision Sustainable Infrastructure System
Envision is comprised of 60 sustainability credits, categorized under five groups: Quality of Life, Leadership, Resource Allocation, Natural World and Climate and Risk. The following is a brief summary of some of the ways in which ozone water treatment can contribute and enhance the sustainable design and delivery of a municipal water treatment system. The Envision comprehensive ratings guide can be found here https://sustainableinfrastructure.org/resources and the Canadian version here www.envisioncanada.com.
Envision Category: Resource Allocation – Water
The future of water availability is uncertain and therefore infrastructure projects need to reduce overall water use, particularly potable water. Alternative water sources, such as stormwater runoff, can be captured and reused for many functions without reducing the overall water resource.
Ozone stormwater, groundwater and rainwater treatment provides many opportunities for non-potable water reuse such as irrigation. Ozone water treatment is applicable to the following credits:
RA3.1 Protect Fresh Water Availability
Intent: Reduce the negative net impact on the availability, quantity, and quality of fresh water.
RA3.2 Reduce Potable Water Consumption
Intent: Reduce overall potable water consumption and encourage the use of greywater, recycled water, and stormwater to meet water needs.
RA3.3 Monitor Water Systems
Intent: Implement programs to monitor the performance of water systems and their impact on receiving waters
RA0.0 Innovate or Exceed Credit Requirements
Intent: To reward exceptional performance beyond the expectations of the system as well as the application of innovative methods that advance state-of-the-art sustainable infrastructure.
Envision Category: Natural World – Land & Water
Infrastructure projects should minimize impacts on existing hydrologic and nutrient cycles and to avoid the introduction of contaminants, whether through stormwater runoff or pesticides and fertilizers. Ozone water treatment systems can effectively remove an extensive list of contaminants including pesticides, fertilizers, petrochemicals, microplastics, bacteria, viruses and CECs. The impact of contamination is often cumulative, especially in waterbodies such as rivers and streams, and therefore each project and site shares responsibility for protecting the quality of the larger system.
Ozone water treatment systems not only destroy harmful contaminants, but the dissolved oxygen in the effluent actually improves the water quality in the receiving waterbody. This enhances marine life as well as the community who may choose to swim or fish in the receiving waterways. Ozone water treatment is applicable to the following credits:
NW2.1 Manage Stormwater
Intent: Minimize the impact of infrastructure on stormwater runoff quantity and quality.
NW2.3 Prevent Surface and Groundwater Contamination
Intent: Preserve freshwater resources by incorporating measures to prevent pollutants from contaminating surface and groundwater and monitor impacts over operations.
NW3.4 Maintain Wetland and Surface Water Functions
Intent: Maintain and restore the ecosystem functions of streams, wetlands, waterbodies and their riparian areas.
Envision Category: Climate and Risk – Resilience
Resilience includes the ability to withstand short-term risks, such as flooding and the ability to adapt to changing long-term conditions, such as changes in weather patterns, sea-level rise, or changes in climate. Understanding the types of risks and probability of risks allows for the development of an informed project design that anticipates and withstands or adapts to these risks, minimizing its overall vulnerability. Increased adaptability and decreased vulnerability ensure a longer useful life and ensure that the project will be able to meet the future needs of the community.
Ozone water treatment is a chemical-free, energy efficient, sustainable treatment that is generated on demand, on site and does not rely on consumables. Ozone water treatment is applicable to the following credits:
CR2.2 Avoid Traps and Vulnerabilities
Intent: Avoid traps and vulnerabilities that could create high long-term costs and risks for the affected communities.
CR2.3 Prepare for Long-Term Adaptability
Intent: Prepare infrastructure systems to be resilient to the consequences of long-term climate change, perform adequately under altered climate conditions, or adapt to other long-term change scenarios.
CR2.4 Prepare for Short-Term Hazards
Intent: Increase resilience and long-term recovery prospects of the project and site from natural and human induces short-term hazards.
In summary advanced ozone technology for wastewater, drinking water, stormwater, groundwater and rainwater can significantly enhance the sustainability, resilience and adaptability of municipal water treatment infrastructure. To learn more about the many sustainable, future-proof benefits of ozone please contact us here.
To learn how Aclarus can make your water treatment challenges easier, please contact us here.