CAN CHLORINE AND UV BE GOOD PARTNERS FOR WATER DISINFECTION?

Both Chlorine and UV disinfection systems are two of the most popular methods used to disinfect water world wide. Together they can be used to provide some of the purest water.

While Chlorine is extremely useful to water disinfection processes, it isn’t without its downsides. Chlorine has by-products that can be cancer risk to humans and negatively impact aquatic life. There are also a number of chlorine resistant pathogens that could still be present in water without a secondary disinfectant tool. This is where UV disinfection comes into play.

By installing a UV system as a secondary disinfectant you can ensure that no harmful by-products or chlorine resistant pathogens are present in the outflowing water. In applications for drinking water like in the video mentioned below, installing a UV system downstream from a chlorine filtration will make it even easier for the UV system to operate.

Another example of how UV disinfection and chlorine can be good partners is for swimming pools. The Model Aquatic Health Code(MAHC) stresses the need for a secondary disinfection system, given the rise in Waterborne Illness outbreaks caused by disinfectant tolerant parasites. The intent for secondary disinfection is to minimize the exposure time to harmful pathogens. Two such secondary systems advised by the MAHC are Ultraviolet (UV) based and Ozone based systems. Utilizing UV for the treatment of 100% of the recirculated water flow has been found to be extremely beneficial in reducing viable Cryptosporidium oocysts to below infectious levels. UV rays kill microorganisms by altering their DNA structure and interfering with cell growth. Incorporating a high dose UV beam in combination with a water filtration system can prove to be a necessary secondary line of defence for combating harmful pathogens and controlling RWI outbreaks.