The city of Sweet Home’s new water treatment plant went on line at 12:30 p.m. on Thursday, Aug. 13.
“We didn’t really expect anybody to notice,” Public Works Director Mike Adams said. He estimated that it would take three to five days under normal usage for water produced at the city’s old plant to be replaced in the system, assuming it cycles through on a regular basis.
“It’s absolutely fantastic,” Mayor Craig Fentiman said. “It’s been 20 years on the (City) Council in the making. It’s kind of like a kid in a candy store. Growing up, I never dreamed I’d ever get excited over a water treatment plant.”
A grand opening ceremony for the ceremony is planned for mid- to late September although no specific date is set, Adams said. In the meantime, staff will be available for tours, especially when the operators are at the plant.
The new plant is capable of producing up to 6 million gallons of water per day. The city uses up to 2 million gallons per day at the most during the summer. It averages around 1 million gallons per day overall.
The plant can be expanded to produce up to 10 million gallons per day by adding two more sets of treatment equipment. Right now, the plant has three filtering units that can produce up to 2 million gallons each, and each of them can run independently if one breaks down.
The plant, located off 47th Avenue, draws water from Foster Lake using a supply line that runs from Foster Dam, under Wiley Creek and along the railroad until it reaches the five-acre property where the treatment plant was built.
“I think it’s a much easier plant to run,” said Tim Sanders, CH2M HILL OMI head operator.
OMI automated the old plant, located off Ninth Avenue, allowing it to produce water overnight.
“What we did to it was as far as you could take the plant,” Sanders said.
The new plant has even more automation, he said. It takes it up another level.
The new plant has its own challenges, such as changing light bulbs inside the cavernous covered treatment building, but they aren’t that big a deal, he said.
More impressive are the advantages.
When the system is complete, operators will be able to log into the plant’s computer system and make adjustments through a secure network connection using a laptop from home, he said.
The new plant also meets current drinking water standards, and the city will no longer need to mail cards warning residents that city water may not meet those standards, Adams said.
In the late 1990s, the drinking water standards were increased; specifically, water was supposed to remain in contact with chlorine longer, and the old plant was incapable of consistently meeting the requirement. Afterwards, the city was required to mail cards informing residents about the problem.
The issue became the main impetus driving the city to construct the new plant.
The old plant was built in 1938 and expanded in 1964.
The new water plant cost in the range of $13 million.