Doing Our Job Right

Twenty four hours a day, seven days a week, 52 weeks a year, Monroe County Water Authority’s Shoremont Treatment Plant pumps out millions of gallons of fresh, clean, inexpensive drinking water to satisfy Monroe County’s growing thirst. How we do it is part science, part plumbing and 100 percent cost-effective.
 

The process begins one and a half miles out into Lake Ontario, where our intake is located.  At the lake shore pumping station the water passes through heavy screens to keep out fish and remove debris before it is pumped to the Shoremont Water Treatment Plant about a half a mile away.

Once it arrives at the plant, the water goes through “flash mixers” where alum and polymer are added.  These clumping agents make any dirt and bacteria in the water stick together to form larger clumps of material called floc. 

After the flash mixers the water travels into the contact basins, large pools of water where the floc gets some time to form. Some of the floc sinks to the bottom there but most of the floc gets removed at the filters, the next step in the process.

The floc particles are filtered out of the water by passing it through granular activated carbon and sand. Chlorine is added to kill any germs that remain and make sure the water stays pure all the way to your home. Fluoride is also added to help keep your teeth healthy and cavity-free. 

MCWA stores water in huge tanks all over our service area to make sure there is always enough water at peak demand times (times when everyone is using water at once!). A total of 143 million gallons is stored. Click here to see how a water storage tank is constructed.
 
Technicians test the water regularly to make sure it is always clean and pure when it gets to you for washing, cooking, and drinking.