Advanced Purification

Advanced Purification and Long-Term Sustainability Project

According to the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the U.S. population has doubled over the past 50 years, while our thirst for water has tripled. With at least 40 states anticipating water shortages by 2024, the need to conserve water is critical. The City of Spring Hill, Tennessee is diligently working toward reducing its water footprint.

The unique challenge the City of Spring Hill faces is that the City pulls water from and discharges water
into the highly protected Duck River. The Duck River is home to more than 50 species of mussels, over
20 species of snails and more than 150 species of fish. The Duck River is one of the most biodiverse
rivers in the U.S.

As the City of Spring Hill brushes up against the limits for intake and outflow, the City has to find ways to
maximize the use of the water it is allowed to pull from the Duck River. That need has pushed City
officials toward working with consultants to develop an advanced purification plan to get the most out
of Duck River water.

Within this Advanced Purification Project, after water is pulled from the river and passes through
Spring Hill homes, it then makes its way to the Wastewater Treatment Plant as normal. From there,
water is treated and passed through an advanced purification process before being sent to a reservoir. At that reservoir, the treated water is then blended with raw water from the Duck River.

The blended water is fed back into the Water Treatment Plant, where the water makes another pass
through the full cycle again. Not all water is automatically sent back to the reservoir, as some is discharged from the Wastewater Treatment Plant to the Duck River, just as before.