Washpool - Excellence Through Innovation

Washpool WTC – UV Upgrade

Location: Bath, UK
Client: Wessex Water
Year: 2020
Sector: Water & Utilities |
Specialisms: Civil Engineering | Geotechnical Engineering | Process MEICA | Structural Engineering |

Washpool Water Treatment Centre (WTC) treats spring source water and delivers up to 10Ml/d to an increasing population in Bath and its surrounding communities in Somerset. The WTC’s disinfection process required updating through Ultraviolet (UV) disinfection; Washpool was one of the first sites in the UK to use UV treatment for primary disinfection. UV treatment as primary disinfection is becoming a popular alternative to the more traditional methods

What we did

Led by our Civil & Process MEICA experts in our Exeter Office, our teams provided a cost-effective solution to client and industry standards to improve Washpool WTC.

In the Water Treatment Centre itself, the disinfection is provided by two duty/standby UV reactors installed within a purpose-built building with the UV plant installed on the suction main of the existing re-lift pumps. The hydraulic design required the UV plant and associated pipework to be approximately one meter below the existing ground level at the site.

To ensure the safety of the water once it has left the treatment works, a small residual chlorine dose is added to the water by a new chlorine gas dosing system. This was achieved with a new dosing system.

The work also included a site washout with dechlorination, automated water quality sampling and flow monitoring.

The existing WTC site is quite small, so the new building was kept as compact as possible to fit in the available space and was also designed so its appearance matched other local buildings as the site is in an area of outstanding natural beauty.

Outcomes

A modern and easy-to-operate Water Treatment Centre capable of delivering safe, wholesome drinking water to residents of Bath for the foreseeable future.