Drinking water –– a colorless, transparent, odorless, tasteless liquid –– is often taken for granted.
However, the importance of water is something that officials –– on the national, state and local levels –– are highlighting as part of Drinking Water Week, May 6-12.
“To really understand how critical a good, clean, abundant supply of water really is, I would encourage everyone to consider what it would be like to have just one day without water,” said Steve Disney, executive director of the Bradford City Water Authority. “This would significantly alter our normal routines, and would cause us to think of innovative ways to conserve and to provide alternate sources of water to simply function in our daily lives.”
Quality drinking water is needed to sustain life, he said. What’s more, Disney said that oxygen and water are two main resources vital to life.
“History shows us that in order for communities to begin and eventually grow into thriving cities, it was generally because they found a good source and supply of water,” he said. “One of the main issues in third-world countries today is the lack of a good, clean, adequate supply of drinking water.”
Pennsylvania American Water officials, who operate the Kane water treatment plant, are continuously searching for ways to make sure water is available for the future generations, said Gary Lobaugh, who is the external affairs manager for western Pennsylvania for PAW.
The company encourages individuals to remain conscious of daily water usage and to help preserve water that could actually assist in the reduction of monthly bills.
“Be sure that leaking pipes and faucets — indoors and outdoors — are repaired,” Lobaugh said. “Take care in the use of garden, lawn, garage or other home products and ensure that they do not inadvertently find their way into water sources.”
People should also dispose of chemicals, unused medicines or other potentially harmful products properly, and they should not pour them directly into home drains, the sewer, street drains or the lawn, Lobaugh said.
Disney said the authority is lucky to have a 12,000-acre pristine watershed that provides exceptionally good-quality water.
“We don’t have any industry, farms, residential housing developments, or other potential sources of contamination located upland or within the watershed, which allows our raw water coming into the water treatment plant to be very high quality,” he said. “Environmental stewardship is our primary focus maintaining the vast hardwood forest that inhabits our watershed.”
Three surface water supply reservoirs, Heffner, Marilla and Gilbert, amount to more than 1 billion gallons in upland reserves to serve the Bradford water system, Disney said.
“Because of our vast supply, and our high annual amounts of precipitation, water conservation isn’t as critical locally as it is in other parts of the country,” he said.
Across McKean County, the Kane district is served by seven wells and seven freshwater springs that help to ensure a reliable source of supply, Lobaugh said.
“We are continually reinvesting in our water systems and aggressively practice source water protection to ensure availability for our customers,” he said.
PAW is investing about $880,000 to upgrade treatment facilities at the company’s Kane water treatment plant to partly better control source water, Lobaugh said.
During the past three years, the company has invested about $1.5 million to replace almost two miles of aging and unreliable water mains in the Kane district, he said.
“Water is far too valuable a resource to be taken for granted — after all, it is the only utility commodity that we physically ingest,” said Pennsylvania Public Utility Commissioner David W. Sweet. “From prudent ratemaking, to daily oversight, to working with utilities to strengthen water system viability, the Commission is continually taking an active role to ensure safe and reliable service.”
