Water & Sewer

Water Treatment & Distribution

The City of Hamilton takes water from Lake Ontario then filters, cleans and treats it to supply Hamilton, Stoney Creek, Dundas, Ancaster, Waterdown, parts of Flamborough and Glanbrook with safe drinking water. The City also provides treated water to parts of Haldimand County and Halton. 

Water treatment

Lake water enters an intake pipe and is pumped to the Woodward Avenue Water Treatment Facility. The water treatment process includes:

  • pre-chlorination
  • screening
  • clarification by means of coagulation with polyaluminum chloride
  • floccuation by mechanical mixing
  • sedimentation
  • filtration using granulated activated carbon in the filters to remove taste and odour
  • chlorine and ammonia added to the filtered water to bring the combined chlorine residual to approximately 2.2 - 2.5 milligrams per litre
  • hydrofluosilicic acid (fluoride) added to the drinking water to promote dental health

The water treatment plant has a rated capacity of 909,000 m3/day (200 million gallons per day) and operates between one quarter and one third of its capacity.

View a diagram of the water treatment process (PDF, 660 KB)

There are four areas in the City of Hamilton that use groundwater as their drinking water source.  They are:

  • Carlisle
  • Freelton
  • Greensville
  • Lynden

Flouride is not added to community wells.

The water treatment process is described below for these four areas.

Carlisle

Water Supply System Treatment
Drilled Water Well - FDC01

Within the FDC01 well house:

  • the wells are joined to a common header for flow metering
  • disinfection is done using sodium hypochlorite (chlorine)
Drilled Water Well - FDC02  
Drilled Water Well - FDC03

Within the FDC03R well house:

  • wells are joined to a common header for flow metering
  • Ultra Violet treatment system used for primary disinfection
  • sodium hypochlorite (chlorine) used for secondary disinfection
  • Online analyzers monitor and control various process aspects ensuring the quality of the treated water
  • A chlorine contact chamber assists in ensuring adequate disinfection is achieved
Drilled Water Well - FDC05

FDC05 is comprised of:

  • a main well pump
  • filtering system
  • UV system  for primary disinfection
  • sodium hypochlorite metering for secondary disinfection
  • instrumentation to monitor and control the well operation
One elevated water storage tank designed for peak hour water demand equalization, fire and emergency storage.  

Freelton

Water Supply System Treatment
Drilled Water Well - FDC01
  • sodium hypochlorite used for primary disinfection
  • online analyzers monitor and control various process aspects ensuring the quality of the treated water
Drilled Water Well - FDC03

comprised of a main well pump
sodium hyochlorite disinfection

instrumentation to monitor and control the  well operation
One elevated water storage tank designed for peak hour water demand equalization, fire and emergency storage.  

Greensville

Water Supply System Treatment
Drilled groundwater well - FDG01
  • main well pump
  • filtering system
  • a UV system  for primary disinfection
  • sodium hypochlorite metering for secondary disinfection
  • instrumentation to monitor and control the well operation

Lynden

Water Supply System Treatment
Drilled groundwater well - FDL01
  • Untreated water enters the reservoir and in the first cell (aeration cell) compressed air is diffused into the water reducing the levels of hydrogen sulfide in the water.
  • As water passes into the second cell (chlorination cell), sodium hypochlorite (chlorine) is injected into the water
  • A second chlorination point is available on the high lift pump discharge to boost chlorine residual levels
  • Online analyzers monitor and control various process aspects ensuring the quality of the treated water

Water distribution

Treated water is pumped through the central water distribution system to residential homes and businesses in:

  • Hamilton
  • Stoney Creek
  • Dundas
  • Ancaster
  • parts of Flamborough and Glanbrook
  • parts of Haldimand County including Caledonia, York and Cayuga
  • minor connections to Burlington in Halton

The City owns, operates and maintains the central and communal well water distribution systems, which includes approximately:

  • 2,031 kilometres of water mains
  • 12,755 fire hydrants
  • 20,860 water valves
  • 144,683 service connections 

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