AVON LAKE, Ohio — The Cleveland Water Alliance has turned Lake Erie into a test bed. Able to communicate the changes it undergoes. And creating desirable data for tech companies.
"Because of the work we've done here, people globally are reaching out to us and they're flying into Cleveland to talk about water technology, water innovation,” said the President and Executive Director of the Cleveland Water Alliance, Bryan Stubbs.
To date, the CWA has tested 80 new technologies, more than half coming from outside the United States. Now, a large pilot project with Avon Lake Regional Water and South Korean company Techwin is what CWA calls a home run.
"We think that they're it can be a great asset for not just, Avon Lake Regional Water or Avon Lake, but for our region," stated Rob Munro, the Chief Utilities Executive at Avon Lake Regional Water.
The Ohio EPA requires water utilities to sanitize the drinking water they provide. Avon Lake Regional Water uses chlorine gas for this. Not only did costs for the gas skyrocket during the pandemic, but the gas is shipped through communities to the plant.
"Chlorine gas is not the safest to work with,” Munro said. “We have to have a risk management plan in place and it's very dangerous for our staff to work with. Also, if there is a release of chlorine gas, it poses a risk to the surrounding area."
This partnership will allow them to switch to a safer sodium hypochlorite method, where the chemical is produced on site. Techwin is investing $6 million of equipment into the plant.
"Once it is delivered and installed, it becomes, our property. They are turning ownership of the equipment over to us," Munro said.
It took two years of discussions to get the deal done. The equipment, expected in November, could be up and running early next year.
"We know what we have here. So it's nice to be recognized on not just on a national scale, but in the world," Munro said.
"We have this beautiful ecosystem here of utilities that are progressive, their thinking through trialing new things that will allow them to operate more efficiently, effectively, but ultimately hold those prices down for the ratepayers," said Stubbs.
It's too soon to know whether the new system will lower water rates for their over 250,000 customers. But it eliminates price increase due to supply chain issues, and could allow Avon Lake Regional Water to sell sodium hypochlorite to other utilities and even community swimming pools.
"We're bringing a high value solution to a regional utility that will ultimately allow them to operate more efficiently, effectively,” Stubbs said. "So this is really unique in that it just checks all the boxes so perfectly."