West Columbia water treatment plant undergoes transformation to improve safety

West Columbia Residents Might Not Have Noticed the Switch, but Their Water is Now Cleaner Than Ever

Through a low-interest loan program, the city was able to fund $9 million in upgrades to the 62-year-old Saluda River Water Treatment Plant. Employees hosted a drop-in event Friday to showcase the new technology and demonstrate how the water filtration process works.

"Most people just know that you turn the faucet on and water comes out," Planning and Engineering Director Sid Varn said.

Upgrades at the plant took about a year-and-a-half to complete. With new tanks and technology in place, the West Columbia plant is one of the first in the region to go "green." Water is cleaned through a natural saline disinfectant formed using salt, water and power rather than the traditional method of combining chlorine gas and ammonia to create a disinfectant.

"Now there's no strong chemicals in the water," said plant Manager Manning Wright, who's been with the city for 17 years. "Before, there was the chance of having too many byproducts, which can be deadly."

At the heart of the plant now is the MIOX system. The technology uses salt taken from a new storage tank, water and electric power togenerate the disinfectant thatthoroughly cleans the water coming from the river.

These MIOX machines are some of the latest additions to the plant. The technology uses salt, water and power to create a safe disinfectant. (photo by Rachel Ham)

Running the water through the disinfectant is just part of the process at the plant. After raw water is pumped out of the river, it's immediately mixed with carbon. The element latches onto the solids in the water and causes them to settle to the bottom. Water then goes through the MIOX cleansing process for the first time; alum is added next to remove any remaining mud particles.

Source: Cola Daily

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