Pilot Study of UV Disinfection for Trickling Filter/Solids Contact Effluent

The City of Abbotsford operates the Joint Abbotsford Mission Environmental System (JAMES) WWTP, which is a facility that is based on a trickling filter/solids contact (TF/SC) process. The City's wastewater master plan identified a requirement to move away from their gas-based disinfection to a more sustainable option. The combination of TF/SC and UV disinfection is not widely used, hence the basis for a full-scale design could prove to be challenging. As a means to better understand the viability of UV disinfection at the WWTP, a 10 month pilot study was undertaken in 2011. Data collection commenced in accordance with a pre-determined sampling protocol, which was intended to monitor all of the parameters that would be expected influence performance. The UV reactor has consistently met the 200 CFU/100 mL disinfection target during the pilot-scale study. Throughout the study, adjustments were made to the UV dosage to determine the impact on pathogen inactivation. Overall, the pilot study has demonstrated that UV disinfection can be successfully implemented on a full-scale basis at the JAMES WWTP.