Visalia, central California, to upgrade its wastewater treatment plant with GE MBR technology

Visalia, in central California, is upgrading its wastewater treatment plant with GE MBR technology and is set to become the largest MBR plant in California when it enters service in 2013.

Currently, the treated water from the wastewater plant is discharged into a nearby stream, Mill Creek. Water discharge requirements limit the flow to 20 million gallons per day (MGD) on average, which is 2 MGD below the rated capacity of the existing treatment plant.

The upgrade of the plant’s wastewater treatment processes with GE MBR technology will include de-nitrification of the plant’s effluent and a substantial improvement in water quality, enabling the city to divert water for local recycling. This will expand both the plant capacity and the city’s range of recycled water applications for uses such as golf courses and agricultural areas.

Under the contract with Visalia, GE will supply ZeeWeed (ZW) 500 reinforced, hollow-fibre membranes, already used by nearly 1,000 plants worldwide.