OUC is investing in new water treatment technologies that will reduce the amount of energy needed to produce clean, tasty water. The sidestream ozone-injection system is a pipeline through which untreated well water flows as bubbles of ozone are injected into it. The process removes the pungent scent of hydrogen sulfide in water pumped from the Lower Floridan aquifer.
With this new ozone-injection process, OUC is able to deliver the same high-quality potable water to customers but use less ozone and liquid oxygen (LOX). The reduction in ozone use also means less energy is needed to produce it at our water treatments plants, creating greater value to customers.
By lessening the amount of LOX needed to treat water, OUC is reducing its vulnerability to possible shortages of the chemical, such as the one that occurred this past summer. For seven weeks, OUC customers cut back on water consumption while our water treatment capacity was impacted by a regional LOX shortage.
Three of seven OUC water treatment plant have undergone the upgrade so far. Each project takes about two years to complete.
