Online Tour of the Treatment Plant

The water treatment process begins with drawing in water from the Saco River.
	Various chemicals are added to the raw water. These chemicals cause small particles suspended in the water to clump together. These clumps are then left to settle out to the bottom of the large sedimentation basins.
A polymer and chlorine are added as the water enters the filters to reduce biological growth and to help with turbidity removal. In the filters, the water is forced through layers of sand and gravel to get rid of small particles that didn't settle during the previous step.
	Chlorine is added to the filtered water to prevent the growth of bacteria. A corrosion inhibiting chemical is added to reduce problems with the distribution system corroding. Fluoride is added to the water to help prevent tooth decay. This enhanced water is then temporarily stored in the clearwells.
The high lift pumps take the water from the clearwell and pump it up to the reservoir.
	The reservoir holds 6.5 million gallons of water. This allows for a water supply that won't disappear during the hours when the plant is not operating. From the reservoir water flows through the watermains to your homes and places of business. If you would like a more detailed (technical) description of the water treatment process click here.