Water Treatment

Water is treated at the surface water treatment plants at Mill Creek and Lake Pinkston.  There are six steps in the surface water treatment process after raw water enters the plant and begins the treatment process. 

First, the water is mixed with a coagulant, such as alum and a polymer.  This binds to any substance or material in the water.  Then the water goes through a flocculation process where everything that was coagulated is removed from the water.  The third step is a sedimentation process where any solids remaining in the water settle at the bottom of a tank.  Then the water is filtered to further remove any solids in the water.  Finally, the water has chemicals added to it to adjust the pH and to disinfect it.  Sodium hydroxide is used to adjust the pH of the water and chloramines, a combination of chlorine and ammonia, are used to disinfect the water.

At this point, the treated water is then ready to move into the distribution system.