Beginning in 2015, Civiltec Engineering commenced design work for the Sunny Slope Water Company and its water treatment plant near Pasadena, California. Civiltec collaborated with Microvi Biotechnologies — a biotechnology company that discovers, develops, manufactures, and commercializes innovative biocatalytic technologies in the water, energy, and chemical industries — to integrate a state-of-the-art biological treatment system for removal of nitrate from two of Sunny Slope’s drinking water production wells.

Microvi developed a unique process for Sunny Slope Water Company’s water treatment system; called Denitrovi™, this technology dramatically reduces the level of nitrates from a level of 35-40 mg/L to levels below 10 mg/L without creating a secondary waste stream. This water treatment system update was made possible through Prop 1 funding.

Denitrovi™ is improving water quality for Sunny Slope Water Company’s customer base in and around Pasadena, including residents in Arcadia, San Gabriel, San Marino, and Temple City. In addition to structural and civil design responsibilities, Civiltec provided designs for power and control integration for the new water treatment system, as well as helped to ensure compliance with the California Environmental Quality Act.

Civiltec has a long history of delivering projects for the Sunny Slope Water Company, including the company’s 2014 Water Master Plan. Civiltec was proud to be a part of this breakthrough water treatment process, which is the first full-scale nitrate bio-process that does not generate waste and has achieved rigorous California Division of Drinking Water (DDW) and NSF/ANSI 61 certifications.

The new treatment process was installed at the beginning of 2017. Below is a video that offers a brief look at Civiltec Engineering’s involvement in the project and the technology behind the nitrate removal process.