(79e) Intensifying Treatment and Resource Recovery SWIFTly and Pragmatically at HRSD

This talk will cover topics ranging from sidestream deammonification implementation at HRSD, recent advancements in mainstream partial denitrification anammox, and the new HRSD indirect potable reuse and aquifer recharge program known as SWIFT. HRSD’s Sustainable Water Initiative for Tomorrow (SWIFT) is a water purification project in eastern Virginia that will further protect the region’s environment, enhance the sustainability of the region’s long-term groundwater supply and help address environmental pressures such as sea level rise and saltwater intrusion. The project will take HRSD’s already highly-treated water that would otherwise be discharged into the Elizabeth, James or York rivers and implement advanced water treatment to produce drinking-quality water. The finished water will then be injected into the Potomac aquifer, the primary source of groundwater throughout eastern Virginia. This could help improve water quality in local rivers and the Chesapeake Bay, while ensuring a sustainable source of groundwater for future generations. In partnership with Virginia Tech and others, HRSD has been piloting potable reuse advanced treatment systems, initially comparing the removal of TOC, pathogens, emerging contaminants and disinfection byproducts in two advanced treatment trains: MF/RO/UVAOP versus Coag/Floc/Sed/Ozone/BAF/GAC/UVD. We continue to perform pilot testing work on the ozone/BAF-based system to address a wide range of research objectives. In addition, HRSD is now operating the SWIFT Research Center (SWIFTRC). This facility includes a 1.0 MGD demonstration-scale advanced treatment system using the ozone/biofiltration-based configuration, a large research laboratory, a flexible and adaptable space to house the advanced treatment pilot systems and soil columns, a recharge well and network of monitoring wells, an extensometer station to measure land subsidence/rebound, and a SWIFT public outreach center.