Water flows from the 268 million-gallon Lockwood Reservoir in Bethlehem and follows the Nonnewaug River running alongside the District’s wellfield in Woodbury.
Converging with this flow is also water from the 30 million-gallon Judd Pond in Watertown. Water from the Nonnewaug River flows through two recharge basins to further aid in the natural replenishing of groundwater removed by the wells. By controlling the flow released from our reservoir we are able to assure that there is always water present in that portion of the river that would otherwise be dry in periods of drought. Although we remove water from the ground at our wellfield, we also continually recharge this area with water held in the surface reservoirs.
Water that “percolates” from the surface down into the ground passes through layers of fine sand and gravel. This “natural filtration” removes substances that are not desirable in drinking water. Water pumped from the District wells is treated with a disinfectant (Chlorine) as a precaution to further protect consumers from potentially harmful bacteria. The water is also treated with a small amount of sodium hydroxide to make the water less corrosive. This is important in reducing the amounts of metals such as copper and lead that may be picked up by the water from the plumbing in consumers’ homes and businesses.
After treatment, the water is pumped about 2.5 miles to a 1.5 million gallon storage tank. From there the water flows through a distribution system of some 31 miles of water mains to reach our 2200 residential and business customers who require about 650,000 gallons of water each day. The District also assures an adequate supply of water for fire-fighting to some 250 hydrants owned and maintained by the District.
