Water Treatment
Sometime in the late 1930s or early 1940s, Strasburg used multiple sources of water to provide service to its citizens. It used an unfiltered water source from the Fort Valley Reservoir, springs, and a water filtration plant built approximately 1936, which pumped water from the North Fork of the Shenandoah River and provided treatment to remove sediments. However, the reservoir would rapidly deplete over the hot, dry summer seasons, creating the need for Town Staff to assume full water plant operations. In 1982, the facility was upgraded to provide a more reliable source of water. The United States Environmental Protection Agency implemented new regulations requiring all surface waters to be filtered. Therefore, Strasburg ceased to use the reservoir and springs as a secondary source in 1991, after completing the necessary improvements to the water plant facilities.
Currently the Strasburg Water Treatment Plant is able to provide up to 1 million gallons of potable drinking water. The water treatment facility is currently staffed by six waterworks operators, licensed and certified by the Commonwealth of Virginia, as well as an operator in training. Employees are required to complete an extensive training process to meet the requirements set forth by the Virginia Department of Health, the Commonwealth of Virginia Board of Waterworks and Wastewater Works, and the Department of Professional and Occupational Regulations, in order to become a waterworks operator.
Strasburg’s potable drinking water facility provides treatment of 667 gpm or 800,000 gallons of water per day, and the facility is in operation 20 hours daily, 365 days per year. When customer demand and water usage increases in late spring and summer, we expand our hours of operation to 24 hours per day, resulting in the distribution of 925,000 to 965,000 gallons of water per day.
Today, water treatment is accomplished with fewer chemicals, yet provides better protection against pathogens and is safer to drink. Improved technologies in water quality analysis, health-effect research, and advancements in treatment techniques have added to the complexity of the current drinking water regulatory environment. Several regulations, both existing and new, have greatly altered the operation of municipal drinking water facilities. These advancements are a primary force driving the expansion of our facilities.
Beginning in 2004, our facility surpassed the permitted withdrawal and treatment rate regulations specified by the aforementioned State agencies, exceeding 80% capacity, making the engineering of a 3.0 million gallon water treatment plant mandatory. On September 10th, 2009, construction of this facility began, and it is projected to be completed in 2011. To view additional details on the water treatment plant construction project, please view our public utilities project link.
Contact
Town of Strasburg
Strasburg Water Treatment Plant
PO BOX 351
Strasburg ,VA 22657
Chief Operator, Christopher Ritenour
540-465-3008
