The City of Westerville sources drinking water from Alum Creek, which is fed from Morrow and Delaware Counties. These water sources do not receive water from the Ohio River or waterways in the northeast area of the state. As such, the train derailment event in East Palestine will not impact our water supply.
The City’s water treatment plant is Ohio EPA-licensed to treat 7.5 million gallons a day and is operated 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Westerville’s skilled team monitors Alum Creek routinely.
The water plant treatment process has multiple barriers in place to address potential biological and chemical contaminants. Because of our concern for chemical contaminants, both known and unknown, all of Westerville’s drinking water flows through granular activated carbon filters that adsorb chemicals, such as vinyl chloride (one of the main chemicals spilled in East Palestine).
Westerville’s treatment process is broken into many steps to produce premium quality drinking water, including coagulation using ferric chloride and settling to remove particles; softening using lime and caustic soda to remove calcium and magnesium which contribute to water hardness; disinfection using chlorine to kill harmful microorganisms; filtration using sand filters to remove fine particles and granular activated carbon to remove any potential organic contaminants; fluoridation for dental protection; corrosion control using phosphate; and taste & odor control with powdered activated carbon.
The City produces a Drinking Water Consumer Confidence Report (released between April and May), which provides an in-depth look at Westerville’s drinking water quality, common contaminants and the steps we take to eliminate them. This publication is mailed directly to residents via utility bills and is always available for review online.
To learn more about the Westerville Water Division, visit www.westerville.org/water.
From the City of Westerville
