Water System
Town water is supplied from three wells in West Sterling and a single well on Route 12 near West Waushacum Lake. When all wells are on line, they have the capacity to pump approximately 1500 gallons per minute into the distribution system. We pump an average of 610,000 gallons of water per day which equates to approximately 222 million gallons per year. In the summer, we sometimes pump as much as 1.5 million gallons of water a day. The increase is primarily due to watering lawns.
There are roughly 68 miles of water mains and over 450 water hydrants in our distribution system. At present, there are 2217 water service connections including 2125 residential connections which serve approximately 80% of the population. The remainder of town residents use private wells.
Water pressure and storage is supplied by two water tanks each with an overflow level of 736 feet. The tank on Osgood Rd is approx. 800,000 gallons and is a wire wrapped pre-stressed concrete tank. The tank on Kendall Hill is a 250,000 gallon steel tank. The new underground tank on Tuttle Rd. is a poured- in-place concrete tank and has a capacity of 1.3 million gallons.
Water Quality
Our water in Sterling is tested for over 140 different contaminants. Each year over 200 water samples are taken and tested for various contaminants to insure the purest drinking water possible.
The water we take out of the ground is slightly acidic with a pH of approx. 5.8 to 6.2. To minimize corrosion in the service lines and our customers' household plumbing, we raise the pH to 8.2 through the injection of potassium hydroxide.
The new Ultraviolet (UV) disinfection facility came on line early in 2002 and is considered to be a state of the art facility. There have been articles written about it in several water journals and inquiries concerning it from as far away as India. click here for article about the UV facility
Every year, the Department of Public Works produces a Consumer Confidence Report on the quality of the water in our system. This report is a snapshot of drinking water quality that we provided last year and includes details about where your water comes from, what it contains, and how it compares to state and federal standards. We are committed to providing you with information because informed customers are our best allies. Please check our Reports page for the Consumer Confidence Reports.
More Information
For more information about drinking water, home water treatment devices and other consumer information on your safe water, visit the NSF International site.
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