LETHBRIDGE WATER
Where does Lethbridge drinking water come from? In Lethbridge, drinking water begins as source water from the Oldman River. On a daily basis, The City of Lethbridge water treatment plant processes raw river water into an average of 50 million litres of high-quality drinking water.
How does the Lethbridge water treatment process work?
Like many water utilities with a surface water supply, the city of Lethbridge uses a multi-step treatment process consisting of the following:
1. Addition of approved water treatment chemicals to change very small particles and other contaminants into larger particles big enough to see. (Coagulation)
2. The majority of these larger particles are removed from the water by settling them in tanks called clarifiers. This process is called Sedimentation.
3. The “settled” water is then filtered to remove the remaining particles to thousandths of a millimeter, too small to see. (Filtration)
4. Fluoride ions are added to the water as a benefit the community’s dental health. Lethbridge has added fluoride to the drinking water since 1972.
5. Disease-causing organisms (bacteria, viruses, etc.) that havent been removed by filtration are then deactivated with chlorine and ultraviolet light (UV). The chlorine is then combined with ammonia to form chloramine. This reduces the formation of chlorine by-products, and helps it last longer to continue protecting your water on its journey to your home tap. (Disinfection)
What standard of water quality does Lethbridge have? Lethbridge drinking water consistently exceeds regulated requirements established by Health Canada in the “Guidelines for Canadian Drinking Water Quality”, and the specific requirements within Approval from the Province of Alberta under the Environmental Protection and Enhancement Act.
References: *Abridged version taken from www.lethbridge.ca