City water

By Temple Ligon

Last Tuesday night Columbia City Council convened on the third floor of City Hall. Joey Jaco, director of Utilities and engineering, and Clint Shealy, water works superintendent, issued a follow-up report on the city’s water quality.

The city furnishes water to about 375,000 people in Richland and Lexington counties through more than 2,400 miles of underground pipeline. The two main sources of water are the Broad River Diversion Canal and Lake Murray. There are treatment plants at both locations, and these plants produce an average of 60 million gallons of drinking water per day.

To quote from the city’s Water Quality Report:

“The City of Columbia uses the following series of treatment techniques to produce its drinking water.

1. As water is pumped into the treatment plants, intake areas screen out floating debris such as plastic bottles, plants and fish.
2. Aluminum sulfate (alum) and other treatment chemicals are rapidly mixed into the water to help particles in the water cling together or coagulate. This forms heavier particles, which are referred to as floc. The water mixture is then gently mixed so that coagulating particles continue to merge into larger floc particles.
3. These floc particles pass into a sedimentation basin where they settle to the bottom and are eventually removed.
4. The water then passes through filters that contain layers of sand and anthracite coal that remove any remaining particles. The small floc particles cling to filter material as water passes through.
5. After all particles have been removed, a small amount of chlorine is added to the water to keep bacteria from developing as it travels to your home or business. A small amount of fluoride is also added to the water to assist in preventing tooth decay”

And to quote further:

“The City’s drinking water met all state and federal requirements during 2014, and is considered safe to drink. The city’s DHEC-certified laboratory performs more than 200,000 analyses each year to ensure that the water the city supplies to its customers meets all EPA and DHEC standards. Additional analyses are performed by DHEC, the state agency that regulates and oversees public water systems. Samples are tested at every stage of the treatment process and at hundreds of points throughout more than 2,400 miles of pipeline that make up the city’s distribution system. The city also conducts voluntary testing for microbial  contaminants. Since 2004, the city has been participating in the Partnership for Safe Water. The Partnership’s mission is to improve the quality of water delivered to customers by improving water system operations.”