h1. tt post jul 28 2015

bq. _"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":http://toledotalk.com/cgi-bin/tt.pl/article/180830#182054 :

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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.
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After the alleged crisis ended last year, we learned that one flocculator was "broken,":http://www.toledoblade.com/local/2014/08/07/Treatment-plant-back-to-full-strength-after-fix.html during the crisis.

A brief "description":http://www.toledoblade.com/local/2014/08/17/Toledo-leaders-see-big-battles-on-many-fronts-in-water-crisis.html about the water treatment process:

* Water treatment begins 6 to 12 hours before water reaches the plant.
* Toledo's intake crib is located about three miles off the shoreline in Jerusalem Township east of Oregon.
* Raw Lake Erie water is drawn into the intake crib.
* *Potassium permanganate* is added to raw water, which combats algae a little, but it's mostly used for taste and odor. 
* Potassium permanganate is also used to keep quagga mussels from clogging the intake. Quagga mussels are the exotic successor to zebra mussels.
* The water arrives at the low-service pump station a half-mile south of the shoreline.
* *Powdered activated carbon* is then added.
* When the water arrives at the treatment plant in East Toledo, operators add *alum.*
* The alum forces algae particles to bind together, making them easier to separate from the water.
* 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.
* *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.
* 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. 
* *Chlorine* is added throughout the treatment process to kill bacteria and any residual algae toxins. 
* *Sodium chloride* and *fluoride* are added near the end of the treatment process. 
* Fluoride helps 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.

It does appear that alum and flocculation are important to treating our water.


More from the Aug 17, 2014 Blade story:

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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
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Two months before last year's crisis, the EPA warned Toledo about our treatment facility problems.

Aug 7, 2014 - Toledo Blade - "Ohio EPA warned Toledo of ‘imminent vulnerability’":http://www.toledoblade.com/Politics/2014/08/07/Ohio-EPA-warned-Toledo-of-imminent-vulnerability-1.html - _Collins told in June of likelihood of dire water problems_

After that story, Ed Moore, Toledo's public utilities director, said:

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“The algal bloom caused the issue. The plant did not cause the issue.”
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That's the same person who earlier this month "appeared to say":http://toledotalk.com/cgi-bin/tt.pl/article/192764#192899 that no raw sewage entered our waterways during and after the Sat, Jun 27, 2015 flooding rainfall. "Yet":http://toledotalk.com/cgi-bin/tt.pl/article/192764#192993 :

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South Toledo had *one outlet* that spilled untreated toilet waste into Swan Creek, a Maumee River tributary, for 24 consecutive hours on Sunday [June 28].
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