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    Riverton water turbidity levels did not meet EPA standards briefly in May

    (Riverton, WY) – Turbidity levels in water delivered from the City of Riverton’s Water Treatment Plant did not meet EPA standards for a brief period in May, according to a press release from the City. This did not present an emergency to the public and was immediately corrected by the treatment process.

    “Operators at the Water Treatment Plant take serious their role to deliver safe drinking water to the community,” said Kyle Butterfield, Public Works Director. “Furthermore, the city prioritizes the delivery of thorough, transparent information to the public about its drinking water. As such, individual notices will be mailed to each water customer to explain the turbidity related issue.”

    Turbidity is the condition of cloudy, opaque water with suspended matter – image below.

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    h/t City of Riverton

    The treatment process removes the condition of turbidity through filtration. It also adds hypochlorite to neutralize microorganisms. The EPA’s turbidity standard is 0.15 NTU for 95% of a month’s readings.

    The treatment plant began delivering water on May 26th, 2021. The first turbidity reading after going online was 0.19 NTU. This was due to the plant’s filters going through a seasoning process. All subsequent readings have met the 0.15 NTU standard.

    “The plant only operated for six days in the month of May,” explained Millie Hoffman, Water Treatment Plant Chief Operator. “Startup occured much later than in previous years and did not give us the typical sample base to meet the EPA standard of having 0.15 NTU for 95% of the month. Our single result over 0.15 NTU put the monthly average at 92%.”

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    ABOUT THE WATER TREATMENT DIVISION: The Water Treatment Division oversees the operation and maintenance of a treatment plant, fourteen water wells, multiple booster stations, and five reservoirs. The plant draws water from the Big Wind River during peak times of the year (May – September). Its design capacity is 4 million gallons per day. The average production during the summer peak usage is 3.5 million gallons per day. It is a conventional plant using sedimentation, coagulation, and filtration. It utilizes activated carbon for taste and odor control, potassium permanganate for algae control, liquid aluminum sulfate/polymer mixture for coagulation, and sodium hypochlorite for disinfection. Water wells are located in various locations throughout the city and deliver water in the off peak season.

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