PAWP Hypochlorite Disinfection Improvements

CIP# 690487-100000

The Parsons Avenue Water Plant (PAWP) is one of the three drinking water plants owned and operated by the City of Columbus. It has an approved capacity of 50 MGD. The PAWP currently uses chlorine gas to disinfect the treated water prior to entering the distribution and this system has provided reliable and cost effective disinfection at the plant for more than forty years.

While the chlorine gas system continues to be a safe and reliable means of disinfection, this project will construct a new disinfection facility and convert the disinfection process from chlorine gas to liquid sodium hypochlorite to eliminate potential hazards associated with handling chlorine gas and improve safety for both City staff and the public. This project is part of the City’s ongoing program to upgrade its treatment facilities to provide safe, efficient, reliable, cost-effective operations to its approximately 1.2 million customers.  

All improvements will be made within City of Columbus owned property (map(PDF, 486KB)) and is not expected to have any adverse environmental impacts. The design will include provisions to address environmental issues consistent with the City’s Environmental Management System (EMS) and local, state and federal requirements. 

Work is scheduled to commence in the spring of 2023. The work is anticipated to be completed in spring of 2026.

The Division of Water (DOW) plans to fund this project with a below market-rate loan through the Ohio EPA’s Water Supply Revolving Loan Account (WSRLA) Program. Prior to granting this loan, the Ohio EPA required a detailed submittal from the DOW to determine the project’s eligibility for the program.

The Ohio EPA has completed a Limited Environmental Review (LER) for this project. View the LER(PDF, 299KB) and the letter of "Notice of Issuance of a Limited Environmental Review and Finding of No Significant Impact”