Where Does Your Water Come From, and How is it Treated?
The Town of Rowley’s drinking water is sourced from three groundwater wells — Wells 2, 3 and 5. Well 5 is a well field that consists of six wells, all of which are pumped to the Rowley Water Treatment Plant along with water from Well 3.
Treatment Plant:
The Treatment Plant is located at 64 Pingree Farm Road. The plant began to treat water from Well 3 in August 2014, followed by the well field of Well 5 in November 2014. The water is treated using a process known as conventional filtration. Through that process, the water is first aerated to assist in removing organic material and raises the pH to assist with manganese removal. Next, we add potassium permanganate to remove managanese, followed by ACH, which is a chemical used to help coagulate — or clump — particles in order to ease the filtration process.
This is followed by the Pall membrane filters, in which the large clumps are removed from the water. The waste water is then sent to lagoons, or setting beds.
We add chlorine for disinfection. The water then flows to a clear well, which is an underground chamber where the water remains for a certain time to allow the chlorine to do its work. Lastly, we add sodium hydroxide for pH adjustment and phosphate for corrosion control. Once all of these processes are complete, the water enters the distribution system.
Well 2:
Well 2 is located at 435 Haverhill St. Water is pumped out of the ground via a vertical turbine pump, where we add chlorine for disinfection and sodium hydroxide for pH adjustment and corrosion control. Phosphate is also added for sequestration of iron. Well 2 is not filtered through the treatment plant.
