ULTRAVIOLET DISINFECTION: THE PROOF IS IN THE TESTING

The Escambia County Utilities Authority (ECUA) provides wastewater service to the southern half of Escambia County. One of the fastest growing regions of the ECUA service area is in the southwest portion of the county. This area is served by the Bayou Marcus Water Reclamation Facility. In 1992 ECUA determined that the existing 2.0 mgd advanced wastewater treatment facility would be unable to meet the growing needs of the service area. An initial attempt to expand the facility using the design/bid/build approach resulted in bids coming in far in excess of ECUA's budget. A different approach was selected, namely the design/build approach with ECUA selection of the treatment process and purchase of the major pieces of process equipment. The initial site preparation began in October 1995, the construction was substantially complete in August 1997 with project closeout in February 1998. This was a multi-phase project which included separate contracts for site preparation of a former sludge lagoon, selection of the treatment process by ECUA, purchase of the major pieces of equipment directly by ECUA, and short listing and selection of the design/build firm for construction and installation of all equipment.