Increasing UV Treatment Capacity and Energy Efficiency at Ringsend WwTW
ccallan 
Posted 4 months ago 
During the bathing season treated water from Ringsend Wastewater Treatment Works is passed through a UV disinfection process to improve final water quality to enable the public to enjoy water recreation activities in Dublin Bay.
The process involves passing treated water through UV channels where UV lamps emit ultraviolet light to significantly reduce any bacteriological presence in the water stream prior to discharge.
As part of its commitment to transforming the delivery of water and wastewater services, Uisce Éireann is investing heavily in the upgrade and expansion of its existing assets and infrastructure at Ringsend Wastewater Treatment Plant (WwTP) in Dublin.
UV Disinfection Building and Outfall Channel
To increase UV treatment capacity and maximise energy efficiency, CAW has just commenced the project to upgrade the existing UV Disinfection Plant which will be completed ahead of the bathing season in 2025.
The original UV treatment system was installed in 2003 and had been designed and constructed with blanking material in each channel to enable the capacity to be increased in future. Some 20 years later, the original UV lamps are coming to the end of their lifespan, making it an appropriate time to implement the capacity upgrade.
Overview of the UV Upgrade project, and progress so far:
The Mechanical & Electrical scope of works involves the replacement of all the UV Equipment including the UV modules, UV lamps, electrical cabinets, pneumatic wiper system and the channel penstock valves.
The UV Equipment is being supplied by WEDECO (A Xylem Brand) and is certified according to the highest standards. The WEDECO TAK 55 Series is a well-proven UV disinfection system with a large installation base around the globe.
WEDECO (A Xylem Brand) Open Channel Disinfection System
Civil demolition will be required to remove the concrete blanking material installed in each of the 5 No. channels, this will allow space for an 18% increase in the number of UV lamps, increasing the treatment capacity.
1 of 5 UV Channels with Concrete blanking material shown on the right.
To progress the procurement of the UV penstocks, the Operations Team carried out a full site shutdown to accommodate the inspection. All flows to the UV channels were diverted to allow the team to investigate the condition of the existing penstocks and take key dimensions for fabrication.
UV Penstock Inspection via crane and man basket during plant shutdown
Design and procurement is underway in preparation for construction commencing in September 2024, with a completion date by the end of April 2025.
3D model of the UV Disinfection Building at the project outset
Watch this space, and follow us on LinkedIn for updates and photos as the project progresses.