De Nora Selected to Support Landmark Chesapeake Bay Region Groundwater Restoration Program with Large-Scale PFAS Treatment System

Milan, 7 July 2026 — Industrie De Nora, a global leader in electrochemical processes and water treatment technologies, has been selected by the Hampton Roads Sanitation District (HRSD) to provide its SORB FX Ion Exchange (IX) PFAS removal system for the SWIFT advanced water treatment facility at HRSD’s Nansemond Treatment Plant, a centerpiece of HRSD's Sustainable Water Infrastructure for Tomorrow (SWIFT) program. The Nansemond facility is central to HRSD’s indirect potable reuse program, treating municipal wastewater to drinking water standards before recharging it into the Potomac Aquifer, the primary underground water supply for eastern Virginia. The SWIFT program is designed to reverse declining groundwater levels and combat saltwater intrusion, two critical threats to the region’s long-term drinking water supply.

The project, designed by Tetra-Tech and Carollo Engineers and constructed by renowned water and wastewater contractor Garney adds to De Nora's growing portfolio of deployed PFAS treatment systems, further establishing the company as a proven provider of contaminant removal solutions for municipal water systems with ten PFAS project awards in recent months. 

De Nora's SORB FX PFAS removal system is designed to treat up to 34 million gallons of water per day (MGD) and consists of eleven 14-foot-diameter IX vessels operating in parallel, with one additional vessel on standby.  The vessels are also designed to be easily modifiable for different media, allowing the system to accept future improved media.

The system incorporates a patent-pending inlet distributor and SORB OTTO underdrain with a custom over-drain/under-drain configuration, enabling maximum media bed exhaustion prior to changeout. The result is longer system life, reduced media replacement frequency, lower long-term operating costs, and a fully externally serviceable design that eliminates confined space requirements.

The SORB FX system selection builds on nearly 20 years of partnership between De Nora and HRSD, reinforcing confidence in De Nora’s ability to deliver high-performance treatment systems. HRSD currently operates nine DE NORA TETRA® Denite® biological filters, including a unique operating mode developed by HRSD that has further enhanced nutrient removal for the community and the environment.

The Nansemond installation is expected to become a flagship reference as utilities nationwide face increasing regulatory and public health pressure to address PFAS contamination. Awarded in December 2025, delivery of De Nora’s SORB FX System is expected by the end of 2027.