Housed within massive pipes inside the water treatment plant, the UV system--the largest in the State of Florida-- will provide reliable and cost-effective 100% redundancy in the disinfection process. 

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has identified UV disinfection as an effective barrier against bacteria and viruses and one of the best technologies to inactivate pathogenic microorganisms in drinking water. UV light provides rapid, effective inactivation of microorganisms through a physical process. When bacteria, viruses and protozoa are exposed to the germicidal wavelengths of UV light, they are rendered incapable of reproducing and infecting.

As a part of the UV project, the City also constructed a powdered activated carbon contact basin that will provide exceptional drinking water taste and overall quality through a process that is very efficient for removing naturally occurring taste and odor compounds from the plant’s source water. The powdered activated carbon basin will also serve as an effective barrier against algae in the unlikely event that it is ever present in our source water intake in Clear Lake.

The new UV building was designed to preserve the historic character of the plant while incorporating today’s code requirements and the highest efficiency of the plant function, maintenance and operations.

The UV building features original materials such as barrel tile roofs, textured stucco, and cast stone embellishments to maintain the Mediterranean revival architectural style of the water treatment plant. The plant was first built by Henry Flagler in 1901 and was acquired by the City of West Palm Beach from Flagler’s successors in the 1950s.