Challenges and Rewards of Replacing a 100-Year-Old Conventional Plant With a 6 MGD Microfiltration Plant for City of Ithaca, NY

The City of Ithaca, New York decided to replace their 100 year old plant with a more advanced technology. A comprehensive pilot test was conducted, and three manufacturers were selected for preparing life cycle bids for this 6 MGD facility. Plant construction was implemented in 5 phases due to complexity of keeping the old plant in service. We believe lessons learned from replacing old plants, phased implementation and cost controls are important to any mid-size conventional plants, which are being considered to be converted to membrane facilities.