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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
Woodward Avenue Water Treatment Facility
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)
Treatment Facilities for Carlisle, Freelton, Greensville and Lynden
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:
|
Drilled Water Well - FDC02 | |
Drilled Water Well - FDC03 |
Within the FDC03R well house:
|
Drilled Water Well - FDC05 |
FDC05 is comprised of:
|
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 |
|
Drilled Water Well - FDC03 |
comprised of a main well pump |
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 |
|
Lynden
Water Supply System | Treatment |
---|---|
Drilled groundwater well - FDL01 |
|
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
- Date modified: