Water Reuse Project of Year Awarded by FWEA

Palm Coast, Florida’s ZLD Project Named FWEA “2015 Water Reuse Project of the Year”

The City of Palm Coast, Florida, McKim & Creed, Inc., and Doosan Hydro Technology have won the “2015 David W. York Water Reuse Project of the Year Award” from the Florida Water Environment Association (FWEA) for their work on the Palm Coast Concentrate Zero Liquid Discharge (ZLD) project.

The award recognizes a water reuse project “that advance[s] reclaimed water as an alternative source of water supply or offer[s] a novel approach to meeting local water needs in Florida,” according to the FWEA. The ZLD project provides the City of Palm with an additional 1.2 million gallons per day (mgd) of high-quality drinking water without the need for developing additional water source supplies. It also meets the City’s green initiative goals for water conservation and waste recovery, eliminates wasteful discharge and maximizes the use of groundwater withdrawals.

“This award speaks volumes about the City’s commitment to environmental stewardship, protection of its precious groundwater source and promoting sustainability,” Palm Coast Utility Director Richard Adams was quoted as saying in a news release issued by the City. “We are honored to have the ZLD recognized by the FWEA.”

The ZLD project is integrated into the City’s existing Water Treatment Plant (WTP) No. 2 and recovers 1.2 mgd of reverse osmosis (RO) concentrate, which is a byproduct of the RO treatment process used at WTP No. 2. The concentrate is treated via the ZLD process, using a combination of lime/soda ash recovery, membrane filtration and waste stream recovery. The ZLD water is then blended with finished water from WTP No. 2, increasing the facility’s production capacity to 7.6 mgd without the need to obtain additional source water supplies. The result is high-quality drinking water that meets standards established by US EPA, Florida Department of Environmental Protection, and the City of Palm Coast.

The initial goal was to achieve 98.5% concentrate recovery, but when the project reached substantial completion on March 2, the City was able to achieve a higher-than-planned 99.3% recovery by increasing the dry solids in the lime sludge from 50% to 65%.

“We are honored to share this prestigious award with the City of Palm Coast and Doosan Hydro Technology,” said McKim & Creed Project Manager Phil Locke, PE. “It was most definitely a team effort and we are proud that this project provides an alternative source for high-quality drinking water for the residents of Palm Coast.”

Added Chris Claessen, chief operating officer with Doosan Hydro, “Doosan Hydro is proud to share in this award. Witnessing the progress from a pilot plant to the completed project has been meaningful to all of us and we are honored to be part of the team.”

The award was presented on May 5 at the Florida Water Resources Conference Awards luncheon in Orlando.