Well 34 Nitrate Treatment Plant

Monte Vista Water District

In September 2022, construction began on the Well 34 Treatment Plant. The Civiltec team was employed by the Monte Vista Water District (MVWD) to provide civil, electrical, and mechanical engineering services, project management, and project inspection for the nitrate and 1,2,3-Trichloropropane (TCP) treatment at Well 34. The solvent 1,2,3-TCP is a man-made chemical used in various industries globally, including in the United States, and is known to cause cancer in laboratory animals. The California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) issued a Notification Level of 0.005 μg/l for TCP in 2005.

To meet these requirements, the integration of the TCP GAC and Nitrate IX treatment system is necessary at the Well 34 site. The Civiltec team is responsible for the design and construction management services to implement these systems. Our work includes installing treatment systems to keep TCP levels in check. Given that the Well 34 site has sufficient space, it is designed to bring in the flow from Well 19 and use the same treatment systems as the water from Well 34. During the planning and research phases, it was determined that the existing pump and motor at Well 34 were sufficient and did not require upgrading to supply the new treatment system. Provisions for future upgrades were considered in the design.

Based on hydraulic model analysis, the anticipated flow was around 1,850 gallons per minute (gpm) with the new treatment systems. With the pre-purchased GAC and IX treatment systems, the new design increased to a maximum flow of 2,000 gpm. Envirogen, and the adsorption system by Aqueous Vets provided the ion exchange system.

Our team submitted various documents to the California State Division of Drinking Water (DDW) for the drinking water permit application, including site civil work plans, equipment mounting pad and interconnect piping with seismic calculations, brine line design details, electrical connection upgrades, and additional human-machine interface screens for local programmable logic control and communications. We also completed an Operations, Maintenance, and Monitoring Plan, CEQA documentation, electrical work including control design integrating the treatment unit with existing plant operations, power design for the ion exchange treatment units and brine pump skid, SCADA updates, and HMI screens to reflect the required information and future expansion provisions, such as electrical conduit, duct banks, and anchorage.

The project team included Project Manager Christopher Hawes, PE, assisted by Steven Walker, PE, Sanjay Verma, PE (Project Engineers), Alec Escamilla, PE, Hao Liu, Ph.D., Charlie Devine (Staff Engineers), Heber Torres, PE (Electrical Engineer), and Chris Duncan (Surveying Manager).