Water Treatment Plant and Water Quality
The goal of your Water Department is to provide cost effective, clean, and great tasting drinking water for Seaside's residents, businesses, and many visitors.
Have you ever wondered where the water from your faucet, shower, or drinking fountain comes from?
The City of Seaside's drinking water comes from the pristine headwaters of a local stream. This year-round stream provides clean drinking water to a population of approximately 6,737 full time residents and thousands of visitors each year.
Your water enters into the City's system at the local stream's headwaters and passes through a series of screens and filters to remove larger floating debris from the forest before it is gravity fed through several miles of pipe to Seaside's Water Treatment Plant.
Once your water reaches the Water Treatment Plant, your water is treated to remove small particulates and it is disinfected to protect the treated water from particulate introductions after the filtration process. These introductions could come from water main breaks or a home's faulty plumbing system.
Turbidity is constantly monitored during filtration. Turbidity is the measure of the degree to which water loses its transperency due to the presence of suspended microscopic particulates. The more total suspended solids in the water, the murkier it seems and the higher the turbidity. Measuring turbidity is a good way to determine the quality of water the Water Treatment Plant is producing. Currently the State of Oregon sets the required standard turbidity threshold at no more than .1 mg/l. The turbidity of Seaside's drinking water measures around .035mg/l when it leaves the Water Treatment Plant. This is well below standards set by the State of Oregon.
Often the water entering the system is so clean it is difficult for the Water Plant Operators to complete the state mandated and required treatement process. Chlorine is required for disinfection and certain levels of chlorine must be maintained throughout the drinking water storage and supply system. Chlorine levels are monitored throughout the City and on Hwy 26 to make sure the levels of chlorine in the drinking water are acceptable and meet the State of Oregon's requirements.
On an average day in Seaside, city residents, businesses, and visitors use approximately 1 million gallons of treated water. On a busy peak summer weekend the amount of water useage increases to 2.5 million gallons per day. The Water Treatment Plant can produce approximately 2,800 gallons of clean drinking water per minute.
Once testing and treatment are complete, your water is gravity fed to one of three holding tanks around the city. Seaside's water reservoirs hold a combined total of 8 million gallons of clean drinking water. Seaside's water reservoirs are located outside the Tsunami Inundation Zone.
Your drinking water is gravity fed from the holding tanks through 43 miles of water main-line to approximately 3,500 water services around the Seaside area.
The City of Seaside publishes an annual Water Quality Report that measures various levels of substances and contaminents in your drinking water. The published Water Quality Reports are included with your water bill and are posted to the Water Department webpage.
If you have any questions regarding your drinking water please contact the City of Seaside Water Foreman Mike Dimmick at 503-738-5112.