Oakmont Water Authority

Oakmont Water Authority Drinking Water Report Info
Where Does My Water Come From? The Municipal Authority of the Borough of Oakmont customers are fortunate because we enjoy an abundant water supply from the Allegheny River. The Hulton Purification Plant draws water from the Allegheny River. This river is constantly being replenished from various reservoirs to our north, including the Kinzua Dam and Allegheny Reservoir, Tionesta Lake, East Branch Clarion River Lake, Mahoning Creek Lake, Crooked Creek Lake, Conemaugh River Lake, and Loyalhanna Lake, along with underground sources and numerous small creeks and springs. Altogether, our treatment facility provides roughly two billion gallons of clean drinking water every year. OWA Allegheny River How is My Water Treated & Purified? The treatment process consists of a series of steps. First, raw water is drawn from the Allegheny River where sodium permanganate is immediately added to help in controlling taste, odor, iron, manganese and disinfecting by products. Then it is pumped to mixing tanks where carbon, polyaluminumchloride and soda ash are added. The addition of these chemicals cause small particles to adhere to one another (called "floc"), making them heavy enough to settle into a basin from which sediment is removed by mechanical scrapers. Fluoride is added to prevent tooth decay and chlorine for disinfection. After water is mixed it travels to the sedimentation basin and the heavier particles settle out. The water then travels to the top of the filters where it passes through layers of fine coal, silicate sand and gravel. As the smaller, suspended particles are removed, clear water flows into underground storage chambers. Chlorine is added again for disinfection along with phosphate for corrosion control. Sodium Hydroxide is added to raise the PH to the desired level. Before water leaves the treatment plant, ultraviolet disinfection is used to destroy microbiological contaminants, such as cryptosporidium parvum and Gardia. From March through November, we add small amounts of Ammonia to the water to form chloramies which help in reducing disinfection by-products..