Kingston West Water Treatment Plant
The Kingston West Water Treatment Plant, also known as the Point Pleasant Water Treatment Plant, serves areas west of Little Cataraqui Creek. Annual water-quality reports for the ingston West plant can be downloaded
using the links at right. Below is a description of the facility and its treatment processes.
The source of water treated by this plant is Lake Ontario at the mouth of the St. Lawrence River. The 1.2 m diameter intake extends about 570 m and is located directly south of the treatment plant, at a depth of approximately 18 m.
Pre-chlorination takes place at the mouth of the intake. This protects the intake from becoming encrusted with zebra mussels, which would restrict the flow of water through the intake.
A revolving screen and a coarse screen in the suction well of the low lift building remove any large debris such as weeds, fish, etc.
There are four low lift pumps that lift the water from lake level to the main plant. There is one header from the low lift building directing the water to the flocculation tanks.
Devices called flocculators agitate the water in these tanks allowing proper mixing of the chlorine and Poly Aluminum Chloride (PACl) with the water. The dirt particles in water will join together with the PACl to form larger particles called floc.
Three 'rapid sand' filters with Granular Activated Carbon (GAC) remove the floc particles formed in the floc tanks, as well as compounds that may cause tastes and odours. Water flows through the filters to a clean water reservoir called the clear well.
Filters are washed regularly to remove the particulates they have collected. The filter is air scoured to break up any large particles, and clean water from the clear well is pumped backwards through the filter to wash it.
Chlorine gas is added to the water as it enters the contact tanks to ensure proper disinfection is achieved through adequate chlorine Contact time (CT), and to provide a chlorine residual which remains in the distribution system. This ensures protection to the customers' tap.
Filtered water is stored here before being used for filter washing, or pumped to the distribution system.
Four high lift pumps move treated water from the treated water reservoir into the distribution system, industrial park reservoir, and elevated tank.
Two diesel driven pumps are maintained to provide a continuous supply of water during power failures. These provide enough capacity to meet fire-fighting requirements as well as normal flows during power outages. A diesel generator provides electricity to run the necessary operational components of the plant.
There is a reservoir at the plant site that holds approximately 14.0 million litres (3.0 million gallons), and another located in the Industrial Park storing approximately 9.0 million litres (2.0 million gallons).
There are two elevated tanks in the Kingston West drinking water system which are located at O’Connor Dr. and Creekford Rd. with approximate volumes of 1.0 million litres (250,000 gallons) and 6.8 million litres (1,500,000 gallons) of water storage capacity. The height of the water stored in the towers, as well as high lift and booster pumps, provides system pressure.
Approximately 44,000 people are supplied with water from the Kingston West Water Treatment Plant. There are approximately 180 km of water mains, and over 1300 fire hydrants in the system.
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