Aqua New Jersey Receives Award for UV Treatment Plant from Water Resources Association

HAMILTON, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aqua New Jersey, Inc. (Aqua) received the Business & Industry Award from the Water Resources Association of the Delaware River Basin’s (WRA) at its 26th Annual Recognition Dinner held last night in Philadelphia.

Aqua received the award for the installation of advanced ultraviolet (UV) water treatment in New Jersey.

The state-of-the-art UV treatment facility, located in Lopatcong Township, UV light treatment to enhance water quality for approximately 10,600 Aqua in Phillipsburg and Lopatcong, Pohatcong and Greenwich townships. Aqua was the first utility to use UV in this particular type of application and on this scale.

Aqua New Jersey President William Davis accepted the award on behalf of the company. “We are extremely proud to have been selected this prestigious award from such an important organization in our industry and our region,” said Davis. “These treatment facilities demonstrate how creative thinking coupled with technology can lead to cost-efficient solutions that serve public health and protect the environment.”

If Aqua had proceeded to build a traditional filtration plant, the cost could have been as much as $12 million. Davis said the company was able to effect the more affordable solution thanks to the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection acceptance of the company’s proposed solution. The UV treatment facility has a capacity of 10.5 million gallons per day. Inside the plant, untreated water is disinfected with chlorine and then flows through a chamber where UV lights “saturate” the water. This “one-two punch” provides two distinct disinfection mechanisms, which effectively eliminate micro-organisms from what is already a very clean water source from wells along the Delaware River.

Aqua provides water and wastewater services to 150,000 residents across eight counties in New Jersey. It is a subsidiary of Aqua America, Inc., a large U.S.-based publicly-traded water company, serving approximately three million residents in 13 states.