A targeted UV disinfection refurbishment enhanced efficiency, monitoring and long-term reliability without replacing the existing reactor infrastructure.
The Village of Haskins Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP) in Ohio refurbished its ultraviolet (UV) disinfection system, extending the service life of critical infrastructure while increasing energy efficiency, operational reliability and future treatment capacity. The project demonstrates how targeted UV refurbishment can deliver current-generation performance without the cost and disruption of complete system replacement.
Why refurbish an existing UV system?
Refurbishment can extend service life, improve efficiency and monitoring, reduce maintenance risk and avoid the capital cost of full replacement.
Why UV Disinfection Is Used in Municipal Wastewater Treatment
The Village of Haskins Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP) in Ohio refurbished its ultraviolet (UV) disinfection system, extending the service life of critical infrastructure while increasing energy efficiency, operational reliability and future treatment capacity. The project demonstrates how targeted UV refurbishment can deliver current-generation performance without the cost and disruption of complete system replacement.
A Long-Serving UV Installation Ready for Renewal
The Village of Haskins WWTP installed two Nuvonic (formerly Aquionics) InLine 4250 UV units in 2006, configured as one duty unit and one redundant unit. Each was designed to treat up to 2 MGD (million gallons per day) of secondary treated effluent. After nearly 20 years of operation, aging controls, obsolete electronics and limited parts availability created growing operational and maintenance risks.
The objective was to enhance system efficiency, monitoring and reliability while extending asset life and avoiding the cost of a full UV system replacement.
The Refurbishment Strategy
The Village of Haskins retained the existing reactor infrastructure while integrating current-generation technology. The work included:
- Controls: Replacement of legacy control cabinets with Allen-Bradley PLC systems, touchscreen HMI interfaces and Ethernet connectivity.
- Power: Installation of Electronic Lamp Drivers (ELDs) to replace transformer and capacitor-based power supplies.
- Monitoring: Replacement of a wet relative UV sensor with a dry absolute UV intensity sensor for more accurate performance monitoring.
- Reactor internals: Renewal of lamps, quartz sleeves, seals and wiper components, with warranty coverage for the upgraded system.
Key Benefits of the Modernized UV System
- Energy efficiency: Lamp output automatically adjusts to flow conditions, reducing power consumption.
- Operational flexibility: Stepless power control enables more precise system operation.
- Monitoring and communications: Modern PLC, HMI and Ethernet connectivity improve visibility and system integration.
- UV intensity verification: A dry absolute sensor delivers more accurate UV monitoring.
- Reliability and maintainability: Refurbished components and modern electronics reduce maintenance risks.
- Extended asset life: Upgrading existing infrastructure extends service life while avoiding full system replacement.
Conclusion
The Haskins project shows how municipalities can renew aging municipal UV disinfection systems while maximizing existing infrastructure. Replacing obsolete controls, adding accurate monitoring and refurbishing reactor internals strengthened reliability, efficiency and long-term maintainability. The new lamp and ballast combination also provides additional UV output to help accommodate future capacity requirements and community growth, while supporting continued wastewater discharge compliance.
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