Treatment Facilities

The 2 water treatment facilities have been in operation since May 2003. The Forge Village Water Treatment Facility at 60 Forge Village Road houses our water treatment and business office operations center. The facility on Nutting Road is strictly for water treatment. The green sand filters have been successful at removing iron and manganese, and the treatment process has exceeded our expectations to provide high water quality to our customers. The Forge Village Water Treatment Facility uses 5 wells as its raw water source. These include the Howard Road Well, Fletcher Well, Country Road Well, Forge Village 1 Wellfield, and Forge Village 2 Well.
The Nutting Road Treatment Facility uses three wells for its raw water source. These include the Nutting Road Well, Depot Road Well, and Cote Well. The Fletcher and Cote Wells are both designated as ground water under the influence of surface water, which requires more stringent treatment and monitoring as specified under the Surface Water Treatment Rule. The entire system is controlled by the Supervisory Control and Data Aquisition (SCADA) system that automatically controls the wells and treatment equipment.

The wells are connected to a manifold that collectively brings the source water into the treatment facilities. Incoming flow is measured by a meter, which also paces the addition of pre-treatment chemicals. The incoming raw water contains iron and manganese that is first oxidized. Oxidation is accomplished by the addition of chemicals that cause iron and manganese to form particles that are then removed more easily by filtration. Disinfection is the neutralization of disease-causing pathogens by the addition of MIOX, which is a form of chlorine that is generated on-site. The pH is adjusted using potassium hydroxide. Calcium hypochlorite is added to enhance the capacity of the MIOX unit, while also acting as a backup for the MIOX system.

Manganese is further oxidized by the addition of potassium permanganate. Filtration is accomplished using Tonka horizontal, pressurized, green sand filters. These filters each contain 350 square feet of surface area. Following filtration, there is a second injection point for MIOX disinfection. The filtered water then goes through a packed tower aerator for radon and carbon dioxide removal prior to entering a clearwell. The clearwell is baffled to increase detention time for adequate disinfection. The water is pumped from the clearwell and the water then moves through a static mixer to evenly distribute any organisms. It then passes through the 3 ultraviolet reactors for additional disinfection.

Finally, the treated water is measured through another flow meter for controlling the effluent chemicals. Potassium hydroxide is used to adjust the pH. Sodium fluoride is added to meet fluoridation standards. Post-disinfection is accomplished with the addition of calcium hypochlorite and MIOX.