(Bloomberg) — American Water Works Co., the largest
publicly traded U.S. water utility, formed a partnership with
the Dutch manufacturer LG Sonic BV on solar-powered buoys that
help control algae blooms in reservoirs.
LG Sonic’s buoys transmit ultrasonic waves that disrupt
algae cells, preventing them from blooming. Four units were
installed at Reservoir No. 1 at the Canoe Brook Water Treatment
Plant in Short Hills, New Jersey, operated by an American Water
subsidiary. That’s the first such installation at a drinking-water reservoir in North America, the company said.
“American Water is committed to using technologies that
help us increase our efficiencies and the value of the water
services,” Mark LeChevallier, American Water’s Innovation and
Environmental Stewardship director, said Wednesday.
Testing from last year showed the buoys had a significant
affect on the algae, allowing the plant to cut chemical
consumption by at least 20 percent and reducing the
concentration of bad taste and odor-causing compounds in treated
water delivered to customers, the Voorhees, New Jersey-based
company said in a statement.
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Justin Doom in New York at
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To contact the editors responsible for this story:
Randall Hackley at
rhackley@bloomberg.net;
Reed Landberg at
landberg@bloomberg.net
Reed Landberg