The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
Purification process for water explained
After Flint Water Crisis, water plants have made some changes
It’s a thing many of us take for granted.
You’re thirsty; you walk to the sink, turn the knob and fresh water spills forth to quench your thirst.
In recent years, though, the purity of that water has been called into question by recent lead contamination found in Flint, Mich., and even more locally in Youngstown.
The city of Lorain’s water purification plant does what it can to keep such problems out of the water they supply from Lake Erie, according to Interim Superintendent Neuronsy C. Adams.
Adams gave The Morning Journal a tour of the facility May 10 as part of Drinking Water Week which ran from May 7 to 13.
The history of water purification in Lorain stretches back to 1873 when there was a population within the area of about 400 people. In these early Lorain residents search for water, they placed a 12-inch cast iron intake line that extended 1,440 feet into Lake Erie. The intake line brought water in to a pump and a distribution system, but at the time there was no treatment, according to Adams.
In 1893 a typhoid outbreak led to a very rudimentary attempt to purify the lake water, which slowed the rate of infection, but was still insufficient to snuff it out completely, Adams said.
According to Adams, the first part of the modern water purification plant, 1106 First St., was built in 1906 and was the first such facility to be built in the country. It was then expanded in 1922, 1954, 1968 and 1996.
According to Adams, the Lorain plant is unique because most modern plants are highly automated, but Lorain still does things by hand.
“We’ve got a very special group of people here because they do everything by hand,” he said. “While that is great and good, I’d like a little bit more automation in this plant.”
As the system works now, the future drinking water is brought in from Lake Erie and is immediately treated with potassium permanganate to control the zebra mussels. The water is also treated with chlorine at this point, Adams said.
“The Lorain Water Purification Plant is one of only two in the state of Ohio or in the nation itself that prechlorinates their water,” Adams explained. “Most people intermediate chlorinate and post-chlorinate.”
The plant also adds a polymer and aluminum sulfate to the water as needed. The polymer and sulfate aids in the coagulation process, Adams explained.
According to Adams, if the water has a smell or taste to it, the plant will add powder activated carbon.
The water then goes through the process of flocculation, which is a gentle stirring of the water separating the particles making them heavy.
The particles, which are called flocc, are moved to sedimentation tanks where it will settle at the bottom and become sludge. According to Adams, the sludge is like mud.
The clean water is then transported to the filters which pass the water through layers of sand and pebbles to remove any particles that are still present, Adams said.
The newly cleaned water passes through effluent pipes to the clear well. During the trip, the water is treated with fluoride and more chlorine, Adams said.
“We are mandated by the EPA to have at least a 0.2 parts per million residual in water,” he said.
According to Adams, the water is also treated with orthophosphate to put a coating on the inside of the distribution system. This keeps lead or copper in the waterlines from leeching into the water passing through them.
The sludge that is removed from the water then passes to a collection area where it is placed into incredibly large bags which allow any residual water to leech out. Once all the water is out, the leftover sludge is taken to a landfill.
While Adams would like the plant to become more automated, he recognizes the high caliber of his workers.
“As cliché as it might sound, we have good people who look out for the people here, because their families drink this water too,” he said.