When Sydvatten AB needed a UV disinfection solution for its water plant in Skåne in southern Sweden, it opted for a custom-made system from Xylem’s WEDECO brand. The state-of-the-art solution will enable Sydvatten to deliver clean, treated drinking water to 900,000 people across 16 municipalities, with the capacity to support a future volume increase of up to 25 percent.
“We needed an effective UV water treatment solution that would be both cost- and energy-efficient, while guaranteeing safety, quality and reliability,” says Stefan Johnsson, Head of Quality for Sydvatten. “When we considered all these parameters, the WEDECO solution was the obvious choice.”
Due to its unique ability to prevent the formation of harmful by-products, such as trihalomethanes (THMs), caused by chlorination, UV technology is believed to represent the future in water disinfection. It also provides an outstanding barrier against parasites and viruses. Xylem’s WEDECO brand is renowned for its expertise in UV disinfection, having installed more than 250,000 UV and ozone disinfection systems around the world.
“Although Sweden has no specific legislation demanding UV water treatment, we are legally required to deliver healthy, clean drinking water,” says Johnsson. “This solution will significantly reduce our dependence on chlorine, while ensuring our ability to deliver the highest standard of safe, disinfected water to our customers in the most cost-efficient manner possible.”
Sweden’s largest UV disinfection project
Xylem will provide four WEDECO K143 UV disinfection systems – thereby upgrading the municipality-owned Sydvatten AB Waterworks, which has been in operation for more than 50 years. The upgrade is the largest UV disinfection project ever undertaken in Sweden.
“We already offered excellent water safety, thanks to our two other existing barrier solutions,” Johnsson says. “Once this third improved barrier is installed, we will be able to guarantee a truly outstanding level of protection from parasites and viruses. I view this system as a kind of ‘insurance policy’ for the future.”
The WEDECO K143 systems each feature 13 rows of 12 UV lamps and will treat a total of 4,300 cubic meters of water per hour. The system took into account the challenges of installation and future expansion and, as a result, the various segments were bolted rather than welded together. This allows for the possibility to add additional rows of lamps in the future to cater for increased drinking water demand.
“WEDECO and Xylem are at the very forefront when it comes to UV disinfection solutions,” says Johnsson. “Investing in this solution has given us access to the most recent technologies – such as the latest low-energy UV lamps – based on many years of research and development.”
The lowest lifecycle costs over 15 years
The Xylem sales engineer responsible for the contract, Gunnar Brüggmann, explains that the contract marks the conclusion of a comprehensive tender process, in which Xylem worked closely with its Swedish WEDECO distributor, Christian Berner AB, to design a customized solution that would meet and exceed Sydvatten’s expectations.
“Ultimately, we were chosen because we could deliver the most cost-efficient solution,” explains Brüggmann. “Not only did the WEDECO system comply with all the project criteria, it also offered the lowest lifecycle costs over 15 years.”
Brüggmann goes on to explain that Christian Berner and Xylem have had a successful partnership for more than a decade. They work together as a team, combining their expertise to find the best solutions for their customers.
“Being involved in the development of the largest UV disinfection facility in Sweden is a huge testament to our leadership in the field of UV and ozone water treatment,” says Brüggmann. “I’m incredibly proud that our advanced, environmentally-sound technologies are being used to help make drinking water safer for almost a million people in the south of Sweden.”
Read more about WEDECO UV systems.