North Columbus Water Resource Facility
In its more than 100-year history, Columbus Water Works has never had a water quality maximum containment level (MCL) violation of its drinking water supply. Before clean water is delivered through faucets across Columbus every day, water is first withdrawn from the Chattahoochee River and Lake Oliver. Known as "raw water" because it has not yet been treated or cleaned, this water undergoes extensive processes and testing at the North Columbus Water Resource Facility to achieve water quality standards.
CWW uses conventional industry methods to treat the raw water, and there are a number of steps.
1. Specially designed screens capture any large pieces of material, such as sticks and debris, and keeps them out of the treatment system.
- 2. The next step is called flocculation and sedimentation. During flocculation, approved chemicals are added to the raw water to combine or coagulate small particles (mud, silt, ect.) that may be suspended in the water- essentially the additives cause the particles to clump together. The water then goes through mechanical mixers which stir the chemicals and raw water together to form clumped particles known as "floc." The floc becomes heavy and through gravity settles to the bottom of the tanks. This is also known as sedimentation. The water flows out and into another holding basin, leaving the floc in the bottom of the tank.
3. Chlorine is then added to the water to disinfect it and ensure that potentially dangerous microbes are killed.
4. After disinfection, the water passes through filters which remove particles from the water such as clays, silts, natural organic matter, and microorganisms.
5. Once the water passes through the filters, chlorine, lime and fluoride are added and the water, now called "finished water," is stored in large holding tanks called clearwells.
6. From there it will eventually be sent to home and businesses through a series of pipelines known as the distribution system.
To ensure that the finished water from the treatment facilities remains safe for you and your family, the quality is regularly monitored by CWW's laboratory staff. In fact, the lab reviews approximately 225 samples a month taken from various locations within the distribution system.