WOODROW WILSON ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE INSTITUTE RUTGERS 1998

Field Trip, July 1998

Tour guide: Edward p. O'Rourke, Foreman of Water Treatment Facility

Plant Regulations: Water that is treated at this facility is for residential use only and qualifies as a Pulic Water System. New Jersey is required by law to follow the Federal Safe Drinking Water Act regulations, originally signed into law in 1974, amended in 1989 by the governor of New Jersey and federal amendments through 1994. During the late 1980s, organic chemicals found in New Jersey's ground and surface water were proven to be potentially harmful to human health.

New Jersey was one of the first states to require monitoring for these chemicals, and now is a leading state in the development of additional drinking water standards.  The N.J. Drinking Water Quality Institute was established to review scientific studies of the effects of chemicals detected in drinking water and recommended limits for each chemical.  Standards set under authority of the SDWA are called Maximum Conaminant Levels (MCLs). An MCL is the highest amount of a specific contaminant allowed in the water delivered to any customer of a public water system. An MCL may be expressed in milligrams per liter (mg/l), which is the same for the purposes of water quality analysis as parts per million (ppm)." (Shelton, 1995)

If at any time a treatment plant is not in compliance with the safety standards of the Public Drinking Water Act, the plant is required by law to publicly notify residents.

Background Information on this plant and its water treatment processes

Background Information:
New Brunswick population is approximately 50,000. Plant capacity for water treatment is 18,000,000 gallons per day. On average, 14,000,000 to 15,000,000 gallons of water are processed per day. This facility runs twenty four hours a day, 365 days a year. Due to the size of the plant, at least two operators are needed to run the facility. Although a degree related to water treatment is looked upon highly, it is not required for employment in this field. Several hours of classes and seminars are required, along with taking many tests.

Even though population in the New Brunswick area fluctuates due to students at Rutgers University being on campus mainly from September through April, demand for water is increased during the hot summer months, creating a plateau for water need in this area. In case of a power outage, the diesel high lift station will be used as an alternate power source in a power outage situation. An emergency tank holds 900,000 gallons in case of a draught.

Water Treatment Processes:
Once precipitation has ocurred in this watershed, it generally takes two to three days to reach the treatment facility for public use. If a single water molecule were to be followed through the plant, it would take a maximum of tweleve hours to become totally cleaned. All water is treated with sodium hypochlorite, rather than the more dangerous liquid chlorine.

1. Flocculation Tank
2. Rapid Mix
3. Retention Basin
4. Junction Chamber
5. Agitation: flocclulation, sedimentation, flitration
6. Adding of post ph
7. Filtration system: gravity filter, pressure filter
8. Holding Tanks
9. Pumped out for consumer use

Turbidity factor is equal to 1.5 NTU of less.

Watershed: Delaware River
Delaware River Watershed Data: The Delaware River Watershed spans over____ miles.

National Science Standard:
Glossary

Additional Resources:

Haestad Methods - Provider of computer modeling applications for hydrology and hydraulics

Interpreting Drinking Water Quality Analysis: What Do the Numbers Mean?
by Theodore B. Shelton, Ph.D., Rutgers State University
 

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