Your faucet draws its water
straight from Lake Michigan.
Almost.
Our crib intake structure lies off shore and draws water from Lake Michigan and delivers it to our low service pumping station near Tunnel Park through a 42-inch intake pipe. From there, the water is pumped to the Treatment Plant through two 30-inch reinforced concrete pipes.
Upon entering the treatment plant, we meter the flow of the water before it enters the rapid mix chambers. In these chambers, chemicals are added to the water for disinfection, dental health, and coagulation. From here, gravity takes the water into four underground settling basins.
As it enters the underground settling basins, the water is mixed gently by flocculators—essentially giant paddle wheels. This slight agitation causes suspended particles to clump and form larger particles, which readily settle. These settled particles are taken to our reclaim well and eventually into our settling lagoons.
From the sedimentation basins, the clear water travels into any one of ten rapid sand filters, which take clean water and make it pristine. These filters are made up of layers of sand of varying sizes and a top layer of anthracite coal.
The water that leaves the rapid sand filters is the clean tap water you rely on every day, but before it is delivered we hold it temporarily in two reservoirs. And from there, pumps fill the water mains that course throughout the Holland community.
We're working proactively to make sure that we can respond quickly and effectively if our fresh water is ever in danger.
Learn more...We're building a water main interconnect that will allow Holland to receive an uninterrupted supply of clean water should we have a problem with our own water supply.
Learn more...