VALDOSTA, GA – The City of Valdosta will observe National Drinking Water Week, May 5-9, 2014. Valdosta Mayor John Gayle will kick off the national observance in Valdosta on Tuesday, May 6, at 10 a.m., with a proclamation, followed by a plant tour, at the city’s Water Treatment Plant. The plant, which is located at 3863 Guest Road, was named the 2013 Water Treatment Plant of the Year by the Georgia Association of Water Professionals (GAWP) in the category for groundwater systems that pump over 10 million gallons daily (MGD).
“Every day, thousands of water customers in our city turn on their faucets with little thought to the water that streams out and how it moves from its initial source through the treatment process and ultimately to our taps,” said Director of Utilities Henry Hicks. “National Drinking Water Week is a great opportunity to take time to reflect on how essential safe drinking water is to our everyday lives.”

The Valdosta Water Treatment Plant is a state-of-the-art facility that obtains the city’s water supply from seven wells that are drilled into an underground layer of porous, water-bearing limestone known as the Upper Floridan Aquifer. The plant, originally built in 1992, was upgraded in 2007 to maintain quality water services while keeping up with city growth. The plant processes over 3.9 billion gallons of drinking water for its residential, business and industrial customers annually. It was built and permitted to process an average daily flow capacity of 14 MGD and a maximum daily flow of 22.5 MGD. The city distributes quality drinking water through over 390 miles of water mains—a system that is completely separate and never crosses lines with the city’s over 317 miles of wastewater mains—to water customers throughout the city. The plant was also designed to be expanded to process up to 45 MGD to meet the city’s expected future growth needs.

“The City of Valdosta is proud to offer some of the finest drinking water in the state, not only to our citizens but also to the industries that choose to locate in Valdosta due to the quality of our water,” said Mayor John Gayle. “Our Water Treatment Plant is also positioned for growth with the capability of meeting the drinking water needs of our city and its citizens for years to come.”

Valdosta’s Water Treatment Plant is operated by a staff of 11 skilled employees. The staff works around the clock throughout the year and ensures complete compliance with all state and federal regulatory requirements by testing our drinking water multiple times per day for more than 90 regulated contaminants. Staff also tests water samples at 60 different city sites monthly to ensure quality water throughout the water distribution system. The plant uses the latest available technology to provide safe and good tasting water for its customers, which includes but is not limited to:

• Air stripping towers to physically remove hydrogen sulfide;
• Ozone treatment to oxidize organics and sulfides and to provide primary disinfection;
• Chemical addition to stabilize the pH of the treated water as well as addition of fluoride to maintain dental health;
• Phosphate addition to provide corrosion control; and
• Sodium hypochlorite addition to provide final disinfection and provide a disinfection residual until the water is used by the customer.

Treated drinking water is stored on-site in three ground storage tanks and pumped to customers as needed. Three additional elevated water storage tanks are located in the city limits to provide added emergency storage for drinking water and fire protection.

“The City of Valdosta is proud to provide quality water services to our customers for public health purposes, fire protection, economic development and the quality of life of our citizens,” said City Manager Larry Hanson. “Any measure of a successful community is in some way related to access to safe water, and we are proud of the Water Treatment Plant personnel who are responsible for bringing Valdosta water customers quality drinking water daily.”

Throughout National Drinking Water Week, the city will celebrate the value of drinking water by reinforcing the critical role it plays in our daily lives and in the quality of life we enjoy. To commemorate the occasion, the city will provide educational drinking water facts to local school-aged students and the general public. Group tours of the Valdosta Water Treatment Plant may also be arranged throughout the week by calling the Public Information Office at (229) 259-3548.

Source: City of Valdosta