The Register-Herald, Beckley, West Virginia

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June 29, 2008

Water company hosts tours of plant

By Fred Pace

FAYETTEVILLE — Myrtle Ayersman said it was very interesting and educational to see how water gets from the New River to her tap at home.

“I didn’t realize how much they have to do to make sure we get clean and safe drinking water,” she said. “The plant is much bigger than I thought and it’s so clean.”

Ayersman, who lives in Fayetteville, was one of several people to take a tour of West Virginia American Water’s New River Regional Water Facility, which is located on Bachman Road.

“It makes you feel better when you understand the water treatment processes and see all the equipment in action,” Ayersman said. “I also like all the safety measures in place to protect the water.”

Marshall Murray, a regional plant manager with West Virginia American Water, said the water company wants to be a good corporate neighbor.

“We want to let our customers know what their dollars are paying for,” he said. “We want the community to know they can count on our water being there.”

The water treatment plant has offered tours to the community since it opened in 2000.

“A lot of people have seen the old water plants, but they haven’t seen a new, high-tech plant like this one,” Murray said. “Most of them are pretty amazed at how it all works.”

Those who took the tour learned that customers in the New River regional water system get their water from the New River, which is a surface water source.

“This treatment plant provided roughly 951 million gallons of clean drinking water to over 10,000 Fayette County residents in 2007,” said Tim Bennett, a process maintenance technician with the water company.

Bennett said almost 3 million gallons of clean water was pumped out of the plant Saturday.

“Approximately 83,000 gallons of water was treated and pumped out in the 30 minutes it took to take the tour,” he said.

Bennett said the New River Regional Water Facility met all the state and federal standards set for drinking water.

“To ensure the high quality of the water, it is monitored and tested multiple times every single day,” he said.

The water company uses advanced water treatment processes to rid the source water of various contaminants. The treatment processes include coagulation and settling, followed by filtration and disinfecting the water, according to Bennett.

“An inhibitor is added for corrosion control and fluoridation is provided for reduction of dental cavities,” Bennett explained. “Throughout the process dedicated plant operators and water quality staff continuously monitor and control these plant processes to assure our customers a superior quality water.”

— E-mail: fpace@register-herald.com

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