Water Operations

Water Treatment Plant

The Benbrook Water Authority (BWA) owns and operates its own conventional water treatment plant. The original portions of the water plant were built in 1974.

Treatment Process

1. Reservoirs: Benbrook water comes primarily from Benbrook Lake.
2. Raw Water Pump Station: When high production is needed (over 8 million gallons per day) pumps are used to bring water from Benbrook Lake to the treatment plant.
3. Algae and Taste and Odor Control: Chemicals are added to the raw water to help reduce algae and taste and odor causing compounds in the water.
4. Primary Disinfection: Chlorine Dioxide is added to the raw water to kill bacteria and viruses.
5. Pre-Sedimentation: Heavy solids such as sand settle out of the raw water.
6. Rapid Mixing Chamber: Chemicals called coagulants are added to the water and cause small particles in the water to adhere to each other.
7. Flocculation Chambers: These particles are slowly mixed in a series of chambers that cause them to become large and heavy enough to sink.
8. Sedimentation Basin: The large particles travel down a long basin and sink to the bottom in a process called clarification. The particles are collected by a scraper system at the bottom of the basin, then are removed and sent to the sanitary sewer collection system.
9. Filtration: The clarified water is treated with a small dose of chlorine then passes through filters which contain 24 inches of granular activate carbon and 12 inches of silica sand for ultra fine particle removal and additional taste and odor control.
10. Final Disinfection: Chlorine is added to the filtered water to provide final disinfection and residual disinfection that remains in the water all the way to our customers.
11. Storage: The finished water is then transferred into 2 storage tanks that can hold up to 3 million gallons. The water is then pumped into the distribution system and to the customer.