CHEMUNG COUNTY, N.Y. (WETM) - The Chemung County Sewer District will soon turn to the power of the sun to kill bacteria and viruses in wastewater before its discharged into the Chemung River.

The new site of the $4.5 million ultra-violet filtration plant will go where the current filtration plant is. Construction crews are constructing the channels where UV light-rods will be placed. Wastewater will flow around the light-rods, killing the bacteria and viruses.

Matt Hourihan, the CCSD executive director, said this new plant will kill more bacteria and viruses than the previous disinfecting method which used chlorine. 

"There was actually for several years no disinfection process at this treatment plant," Hourihan explained, "until the EPA and DEC wanted to determine what their changing limits and requirements were going to be with disinfection moving forward."

The District also said it is more practical since it stopped using chlorine several years ago when state regulations required more chemicals be used to remove the chlorine.