Tom Harpool Water Treatment Plant Begins a New Era of High Quality Service for Upper Trinity Regional Water District

 

November 29, 2007

 

The new Tom Harpool Water Treatment Plant is now on-line (as of November 29, 2007), providing superior quality water to Upper Trinity Customers. This achievement reflects a commitment by the Upper Trinity to produce the highest-quality water using the best technologies - - in this case, membrane filtration. Membranes provide a "positive barrier" against pollutants and other health risks, such as Giardia cysts and Chryptosporidium oocysts. Over the next few weeks, water from this plant will become the primary source for Upper Trinity Customers in the northeast Denton County area.

Highlights of the Tom Harpool WTP include:

w	Initial treatment capacity is 20 MGD (Million Gallons Per Day).
w	Site is master planned for 240 MGD of treatment capacity.
w	The plant is designed to complement the surrounding community.
w	Automated features allow for safe, remote operation.
w	Modular design of membranes will facilitate efficient expansions in the future.
w	The Plant can accommodate other treatment technologies like ozone and ultraviolet disinfection.
w	The Harpool Plant will increase reliability for the Upper Trinity Regional Treated Water System.

 

Frequently Asked Questions

Q.	What about water quality?
A.	The treated water will meet and exceed all water quality regulations set by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) and EPA. The Harpool Plant will produce very high quality water, with extra safeguards against potential pollutants. The taste of the drinking water is excellent, and may vary slightly from other waters because of the advanced treatment process. The high tech membrane process will provide greater protection against potential pollutants than conventional treatment, even removing virus and other particles down to three (3) microns in size.
Q.	Who will receive water from the Harpool Plant?
A.	The Harpool water will provide water needed by Upper Trinity Customers in the area north and east of Lewisville Lake. In times of high demand, or in the event of an emergency, the regional interconnection will deliver additional water from Upper Trinity's other regional plant, located south of Lewisville Lake.
Q.	Where does the raw water for the Harpool Plant come from?
A.	The raw water source for the Harpool Plant is Chapman Lake, located about 80 miles to the east near the City of Commerce. For the future, a second source from Ray Roberts Lake is being planned.
Q.	What about a local supply of raw water, in case the pipeline from Chapman Lake is interrupted?
A.	A local storage lake will be kept full for any such need.
Q.	What is a membrane filter?
A.	The membrane filters are a high-grade plastic material, similar in shape to fine spaghetti - - with millions of microscopic pores. These pores are smaller than some virus organisms, making for a great filter - - thus producing very high quality drinking water. Membrane filters have been used for water purification for many years, but until recently the high cost made their use impractical for a typical public water supply system.
Q.	Is chlorine used in the water?
A.	As required by the State (TCEQ) and Federal (EPA) regulatory agencies, a minimum amount of Chlorine or Chloramine must be used during the treatment process to achieve the required level of disinfection protection against potential contamination after the treated water leaves the plant.