Main and R.L. Pratt Water Treatment Plants MIEX® System and SCADA Upgrades

The Main and R.L. Pratt Water Treatment Plants were the first two water treatment facilities in the United States to use magnetic ion exchange (MIEX®), a new technology that removes dissolved organic carbon and other negatively charged ions from water. These operating systems were also the first to be upgraded to the latest regeneration technology and incorporate supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) improvements.

CHA provided planning, design, permitting, and engineering services to upgrade and modernize these two water treatment plants. The regeneration system was converted from a single large batch volume regeneration process to a smaller multiple batch continuous regeneration process. Upgrades also included relocating processes indoors for protection against the Florida sun and hurricanes and providing common equipment for redundancy and economics.

This work fully integrated the MIEX® system with the water treatment plant’s SCADA program improvements, reduced the cost of salt supply by about 20%, and reduced waste brine generation by about 30%. Work on this project proceeded while maintaining operations throughout construction, came in below budget, and ultimately improved operational efficiencies.