Cadets and interns see how water goes from river to faucet Published July 21, 2010 By American Water American Water SCOTT AIR FORCE BASE, Ill. -- American Water Military Services at Scott Air Force Base and Illinois American Water Company Interurban District sponsored a tour of the East Saint Louis Water Treatment Plant to show visitors from the base how Mississippi River water is processed into clean drinking water. The conventional surface water treatment plant has a 56.6 million gallon per day capacity that supplies an average of 40.8 million gallons daily to 25,886 service connections with an estimated population of 239,683 people in St. Clair and Monroe Counties, including Scott Air Force Base. Accompanied by Aaron Williams, Chief Operator of American Water at Scott Air Force Base, participants included Air Force Academy Cadets and college student interns working summer jobs at the base. Illinois American's Plant Operations Supervisor for Production, Dwayne Lowry, and Water Quality Supervisor, Sarah Boyd, led the group on a guided walk-through of the plant to give guests a first-hand look at how water pumped from the river flows through five basic treatment steps--coagulation, sedimentation, filtration, disinfection, and finished storage--to create a fresh, clean, and healthy drinking water supply to meet customer needs. They also saw how the plant uses advanced Supervisory Control and Automated Data Acquisition, or SCADA, technologies to monitor all processes to ensure optimal treatment, adequate production and distribution, and compliance with environmental regulations. Participants also toured the plant's laboratories. In the process control laboratory, the water is continuously sampled and tested to detect a wide range of physical water properties that helps plant operators keep the treatment process stable to ensure all water produced meets or exceeds environmental regulatory standards. In the microbiological testing laboratory, certified by the Illinois Department of Public Health, the plant staff performs testing for micro-organisms to ensure that the filtration and disinfection processes are effective at removing undesirable contaminants. Tour participants were impressed by the many plant processes involved in the business of treating water and getting it to customers. They were also fascinated by all the operational intricacies and the host of technologies used throughout the entire process. Attendees gained an appreciation for the time, effort, and expense required for a water utility system to ensure the constant availability of such a vital resource. "Our company appreciates opportunities to educate the public about our business to promote consumer confidence in the safety, reliability, and quality of our product," said Jeff Slocum, General Manager of American Water's operations at Scott Air Force Base. "American Water takes great pride in the water we provide to the communities we are privileged to serve."