Kodiak city staff begins kick-off meetings within days to begin development of a new water treatment system that uses ultraviolet rays as a disinfectant.

The Kodiak Public Works Department is picking up the pace on the development of a new water treatment system as the result of a $658,000 contract with CH2MHILL, the City Council authorized at its June 28 meeting.

CH2MHILL is a national firm that specializes in water treatment. The contract is for pre-design, site investigation and final design of an ultraviolet disinfection facility that would come on line by 2010 at an estimated cost of $6.5 million and an annual maintenance cost of $150,000.

The new water treatment system uses ultraviolet rays that are encased in glass tubes, releasing rays through the water. No water pumps are necessary as the water flows by gravity.

There are other ultraviolet water treatment systems being developed in cities throughout the state.

Ketchikan is one such city but is having to move more quickly than Kodiak due to critical water contamination problems.

Mark Kozak, city public works director, said today this month’s meetings are to help staff better understand what direction to provide the designers in order to meet requirements under the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Development of the new system is the result of a 2006 directive from the EPA.

EPA adopted the Long Term 2 Enhanced Surface Water Treatment Rule requiring that all unfiltered surface water systems in the United States, such as the City of Kodiak’s, use a minimum of two disinfection systems.

At least one of the disinfectants must be capable of inactivating cryptosporidium, giardia and viruses.

The City of Kodiak needs to comply with EPA requirements no later than Oct. 1, 2014.

The city began a study to evaluate the different treatment options available to meet the federal requirements in 2003. CH2MHILL performed the study, delivering a report in August 2006.

Floyd Damron, CH2MHILL vice president, told the City Council at last week’s work session the ultraviolet system is the least expensive, with other systems ranging in price from $10 million to $23 million. Those systems include ozonation, chlorine dioxide disinfection, membrane microfiltration, granular media pressure filtration and gravity filters.

Based on water quality monitoring in Kodiak for the years 2003 through 2006, the study concluded that an ultraviolet treatment facility would work with the city’s existing water quality requirements.

Kozak pointed out the ultraviolet system does not replace the current system but is a secondary system as required by federal law.

Currently, Kodiak’s primary water treatment uses chlorine as a disinfectant. Soda ash also is put into city water to protect pipes from corrosion and to prevent copper and lead contaminants.

Kodiak is known as a Water Filtration Avoidance Community, since it has been determined there is no need here for a filtration system, such as in Seattle, Wash., Portland, Ore., and New York City. City water meets current EPA water standards.

A 1991 EPA directive requires all water surface communities to filter water, but since Kodiak’s water quality is such that there is no need for filtration, it is still in compliance with federal regulations.

Public hearings were held after the 1991 directive in Kodiak establishing the city as a filtration avoidance community.

Kodiak, however, continues to maintain EPA criteria in order to operate its current system. The criteria include protection of its watersheds from primary human activity and to maintain watershed turbidity, or purity of water.

Kodiak’s two public water providing watersheds are Pillar Mountain and Monashka watersheds. Monashka is the main reservoir.

Kozak said Kodiak uses water way out of proportion to its size, primarily due to the fishing industry and operation of the several canneries in the city.

Kozak said design of the new system is to be completed by 2009. Contracts for construction of the system are to be put out for bid in January 2010.

Mirror writer Bryan Martin can be reached via e-mail at bmartin@kodiakdailymirror.com.