Creative Solutions are Key to Conquer the Concentrate Discharge Challenges for One Tidally-Influence Desalination Facility

The Swansea Water District (SWD) provides drinking water for the residents of Swansea, Massachusetts and some neighbor communities. As such, the District is constructing a new 1.4 mgd desalination facility to treat the tidally-influenced Palmer River via an MF/RO integrated membrane system. In addition to the MF/RO desalination facility, a 1.0 mgd groundwater treatment plant utilizing iron and manganese oxidation and enhanced coagulation with microfiltration is being constructed to treat a groundwater supply that has a history of water quality issues. This paper will discuss a cost-effective solution to concentrate disposal at the SWA desalination plant treating tidally-influenced surface waters.