Haverstraw RO pilot plant starts operations

Operation of United Water’s Haverstraw Water Supply Project desalination pilot study located in West Haverstraw, New York, began on 23 November 2010.

The 200,000 GPD (757,000 L/d) pilot plant will enable United Water’s engineers to determine the most effective way to purify water drawn from the Hudson River.

After conducting an exhaustive review of the options available, including building a reservoir at Ambrey Pond in Stony Point and reusing wastewater, United Water officials concluded the most cost-effective and sustainable option is a treatment plant that will purify water drawn from the Hudson. If constructed, the full size reverse-osmosis plant would be 7.5 MGD (28,300 m³/d).

The pilot facility will be used to study and optimize, among other things, the treatment processes and energy consumption that will be used in the full-scale plant, while continuing with important water quality data collection.

“This is an important step in the development of this project that will provide Rockland County residents with a safe, reliable, and drought-resistant supply of drinking water and enough to suppress fires when they occur,” said Michael Pointing, United vice president and general manager.

State and local officials have ordered United Water to find additional sources of water to meet Rockland County’s rising demand.

The results of the pilot plant testing will be reviewed by state and local regulators, as well as United Water’s environmental engineering and water quality experts. United Water’s plan to build a permanent treatment plant in Haverstraw will use a combination of traditional water treatment and reverse osmosis to provide a drought-resistant source of drinking water. The plant is expected to start service by December 2015.