Atchison, Kansas – Utility customers of the City of Atchison may soon notice an improvement in the taste and odor of the water coming to their homes and businesses. Earlier this week, the Water Treatment Plant staff began treating the water with ozone after completing training on the new equipment in recent weeks.
On January 21, 2014, the Atchison City Commission authorized a contract with Walters‐Morgan for the construction and installation of a new ozone disinfection treatment process at the City’s Water Treatment Plant.
“An effective disinfection process is critical to producing clean, compliant water,” said Director of Public Works and Utilities, Justin Pregont. “With ozone up and running, the occasional taste and odor issues with our water should be a thing of the past once all the water in the distribution system turns over. Additionally, once the filter upgrade project is complete at the plant sometime next year, the nagging TOC compliance issue will also be a thing of the past.”
Prior to initiating construction of the ozone disinfection process at the Water Treatment Plant, the City struggled to consistently meet EPA regulations on removal of total organic carbons (TOC) during the water treatment process. Water plants that treat surface water, such as that from the Missouri River, are required by federal rule to monitor levels of TOC, a disinfection by‐ product precursor. TOC has not been shown to have any adverse health effects, however, it does provide a medium for the formation of disinfection by‐products such as Trihalomethanes (TTHM) and Haloacetic Acids (HAA). TTHMs and HAAs are also monitored with regularity and contaminant level violations for both of those byproducts have been rare.
“The ozone disinfection system, when coupled with the filter project that we’re just getting started, will allow us to produce higher quality water with fewer taste and odor issues,” said Director of Public Works and Utilities Justin Pregont. “This project was a huge investment and we’re excited to see it up and running.”