PFAS Treatment for Tequesta Water Plant
Overview
The primary goal of a water treatment facility is to safeguard public health while providing high-quality services to its consumers. To achieve this objective, the facility must adhere to standards mandated by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). These standards specify maximum contaminant levels and mandatory treatment protocols for community water systems. In this context, the Tequesta Water Treatment Plant, located in Jupiter, Florida, is committed to complying with EPA regulations. The facility has requested Atlantic Aqua Solutions to design a highly effective system for the removal of Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) from its water supply. PFAS are a class of hazardous chemicals that have recently come under EPA regulation due to their challenging treatment processes and their documented carcinogenic properties. Tequesta Water Treatment Plant operates a 2.7 million-gallon-per-day (MGD) filtration facility, which is the focus of this project. Atlantic Aqua Solutions has analyzed the concentrations of PFAS detected in the water supply, as well as performed an environmental site assessment, alternative analysis, and literature review to design the best treatment. A final decision was made that granular activated carbon and ion exchange are the most suitable and effective treatments to implement in Tequesta. A complete design was developed for both treatments, including design components, cost analysis, and waste management.
Community Benefit
The fundamental and universal human right to access safe drinking water and sanitation is at the core of our project. Our primary objective is to safeguard public health. In-depth research was conducted to develop the most effective treatment for removing perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), carcinogenic compounds, from Tequesta’s water supply.