Black & Veatch’s relationship with the Lincoln Water System (LWS) dates back to the design and construction in 1934 of the first water treatment plant in Nebraska’s capital city. Decades later, LWS called on Black & Veatch for a system expansion using an emerging technology.
Ozone disinfection was used as part of the East Water Treatment Plant construction. The advantages of ozone were high levels of disinfection, oxidation of manganese, improved filter performance and oxidation of Atrazine, a herbicide in the Platte River that comes from agricultural runoff.
When the expanded plant reached capacity, LWS again turned to Black & Veatch for expansion options. Black & Veatch worked closely with the city to perform additional pilot testing, which would provide data to be used in creating a road map for future facility improvements.
Black & Veatch performed final design and construction phase services for expansion of the plant. The expansion increased treatment capacity from 50 million gallons per day (mgd) to 60 mgd without any increase in the building’s footprint. The core of the expansion was the replacement of existing ozone generators with more advanced technology.
Black & Veatch installed new generators that use approximately half the electricity used by the prior system. The project addresses the critical issue of environmental impact by generating and applying ozone chemicals more efficiently.
The project removed the old generators and retrofitted the existing facility. Since the existing footprint did not have to increase, future building expansion was avoided. Existing equipment was salvaged and used where possible. Reuse of the ozone destruct units also models good stewardship.
