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A New Water Plant for the 21st Century

A rendering of the exterior of the new water treatment plant.

Planning for the new water plant began approximately 10 years ago, and identified a multi-phased approach to replacing aging infrastructure and maintaining regulatory compliance.


Key factors that led to the construction of a new plant are outlined below: 

Why Rebuild
This Facility

A convergence of factors has led to the need to rebuild West Parish so we can provide safe, reliable drinking water for our region into the 21st century.

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Aging Infrastructure

Climate
Change

Expanding
Regulations

New West Parish WTP

A worker standing next to broken walkway pieces on top of the Rapid Sand Filtration system.

Aging Infrastructure

The "newest" parts of West Parish are a half-century old and beyond their useful life, increasing the risk of failure.

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Climate Change

Extreme precipitation carries higher levels of organics into our reservoir than the existing treatment plant was designed to remove, and stresses aging infrastructure.

A person bicycling through a flooded residential area.
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A chart demonstrating the accelerated growth of regulated contaminants from 1976 to 2025.

Expanding Regulations

Water quality regulations now cover many more compounds than they did when the plant was designed.

Resolving Disinfection Byproducts (DBPs)

DBPs form when disinfectants such as chlorine react with dissolved organic material naturally found in water. Haloacetic acids (HAA5) and Total Trihalomethanes (TTHMs) are regulated by federal standards. The addition of dissolved air flotation (DAF) to our new treatment process will remove more organics from our water, reducing DBP formation to meet regulatory standards.

A visual representation of how the treatment process will change at West Parish with the Addition of dissolved air flotation.

Project Improvements Include:

The improvements plan includes several key project areas, including:

New Backwash Facility

Replaced obsolete infrastructure and enables treatment during construction

Dissolved Air Flotation

Removes more organics prior to filtration

Filter Upgrades and Expansion

New, modern filter beds to protect water quality

New Disinfection System

Safer process to remove pathogens

New Electrical System

Supports new treatment processes

Elimination of Slow Sand Filters

Replaces obsolete infrastructure to improve water quality

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