Award Given for Advanced Oxidation Process (AOP) Pilot Studies
District Leads Long Island with Six AOP Treatment Systems Installed
The Plainview Water District (PWD) is proud to announce it has received the Gold Engineering Excellence Award from the American Council of Engineering Companies (ACEC) New York for their Advanced Oxidation Process (AOP) pilot studies done in conjunction with their consulting engineers from H2M architects + engineers. This award represents all of the hard work the PWD has put in over the past several years in piloting AOP treatment systems to treat the community’s drinking water for the emerging contaminant 1,4-dioxane. The initial pilot studies completed have now culminated into the District having six AOP systems up and running in record time.
“Receiving the Gold Engineering Excellence Award is a testament to the dedication from everyone here at the Plainview Water District and our consultants at H2M architects + engineers,” said PWD Chairman Marc Laykind. “Our commitment to the rapid installation of AOP treatment systems to ensure the safety of our residents’ drinking water has been second to none these past few years. We are truly honored to have the recognition from ACEC New York for our collective efforts.”
Before installing the new AOP water treatment technology, water providers were required to test the efficacy of the treatment systems by conducting pilot studies on each impacted wells. These studies and the data generated were instrumental in allowing the District to quickly construct full-scale AOP treatment systems. This award further cements the PWD as a leader in this island-wide treatment endeavor as the information collected during the pilot period was instrumental to the deployment of AOP systems throughout the District.
“All of us at the Plainview Water District are committed to not only distributing the highest quality water possible, but being leaders in water treatment,” said PWD Commissioner Amanda Field. “From my fellow commissioners and staff as well as our engineers, this award is a reflection on our team and speaks volumes to their dedication to keeping the water flowing safely and efficiently in Plainview-Old Bethpage.”
The most recent AOP system to come online, at Plant 3 on Orchard Street, is a $2.2 million system specifically designed to produce up to two million gallons per day of the highest quality drinking water for the Plainview-Old Bethpage community. The PWD now has the ability to treat over 11 million gallons of water every day for 1,4-dioxane. The District had planned these treatment facilities back in 2018, two years before these regulations were put into effect. Due to their efforts, the PWD was able to ensure all water being distributed to the community was in compliance with the maximum contaminant level (MCL) regulations before they went into effect.
“Our team here at the PWD has been nothing short of spectacular in getting these facilities up and running as quickly as they did,” said PWD Commissioner Andrew Bader. “Our District has always been committed to making the necessary investments to benefit the community, but this recent wave of infrastructure needs was certainly unprecedented in both size and scope. We are honored to have this award to recognize all of the progress we have made.”
Since 2017, the Plainview Water District has been awarded over $9 million in infrastructure grant money in order to build these necessary AOP treatment facilities. The removal of 1,4-dioxane from wells across Long Island is estimated to cost $840 million in capital investments with an additional $50 million per year in increased operating and maintenance costs.