The Tampa City Council has approved the design phase of a new water treatment facility that will use Suspended Ion Exchange (SIX) technology to remove PFAS, or forever chemicals, and organic matter from the city’s drinking water supply. The facility will be built at the David L. Tippin Water Treatment Facility and is expected to begin operations in 2032.
Independent testing found that the SIX process removes about 30 percent of PFAS compounds from the city’s raw water supply. The technology also removes approximately 50 percent of naturally occurring organic matter before conventional treatment begins, improving the efficiency of downstream treatment processes and helping the city meet future drinking water standards.
The Tampa Water Department estimates that the technology will reduce future capital costs by more than $80 million compared with alternative treatment options. A 10-month pilot program also showed that the process can eliminate some treatment chemicals and reduce the use of others, resulting in projected operating savings of about $2 million annually.
The Tampa Water Department is partnering with the Tippin Water Team, comprising Carollo Engineers, Garney Construction, Wharton Smith, Inc., and PWNT Technologies, to design and construct the facility. Once complete, it is expected to be the first SIX water treatment facility in North America and the largest installation of its kind worldwide.