Tt post jul 28 2015

"Here's the secret: They have alum this year, the mixy stick is not broken, and they know we are watching."

On Aug 19, 2014, justread wrote :

We know (Thanks to the required EPA disclosure that just came in our most recent water bills) that your staff at the Collins Park plant RAN OUT of Alum and had to come up with a protocol to make sure that it wouldn't happen again.

After the alleged crisis ended last year, we learned that one flocculator was broken, during the crisis.

A brief description about the water treatment process:

• water treatment begins 6 to 12 hours before water reaches the plant
• raw Lake Erie water is drawn into the intake crib, located about three miles offshore
• potassium permanganate is added to raw water as it’s drawn in through the intake crib nearly three miles out in Lake Erie, off the shoreline in Jerusalem Township east of Oregon.

That chemical helps combat algae to some extent. But it is mostly for taste and odor, as well as for keeping quagga mussels — the exotic successor to zebra mussels — from clogging the intake.

Powdered activated carbon is then added when the water arrives at the low-service pump station a half-mile south of the shoreline, Mr. McClure said.

Operators add alum once the water arrives at the treatment plant in East Toledo.

The alum forces algae particles to bind together, making them easier to separate from the water, Mr. McClure said.

That separation process begins in the flocculation basin, where the water is gently stirred. The stirring has to be gentle so the algal clumps don’t break apart and become dispersed back into the water column, he explained.

Lime is added to soften the water. Soda ash is used to counteract alum when there’s excessive algae and a need for more alum, Mr. McClure said.

As the water completes three passes in the flocculation basin, with particles settling out, carbon dioxide is added to complete the softening process.

Then the water passes through a series of filters. It is dosed with other chemicals on its way out. Chlorine is added throughout the treatment process to kill bacteria and any residual algae toxins. Sodium chloride and fluoride are added near the end, the latter to help prevent tooth decay. Polyphosphate is added to help protect copper pipes.

The finished water is distributed to the public from the enormous force of high-service pumps that are wider and taller than many two-car garages.

The controversy about the water plant’s status isn’t about the fundamental method Toledo uses to treat water, but the condition of its parts and the overall aging of the 73-year-old facility