Welcome To The Belleair Water Treatment Plant Tour

Plant Dedication

Wall Plaque

Belleair’s municipal water supply has always come from our own wells. Water treatment consists of aeration, filtration, sequestration, fluoridation and chlorine disinfection. The Town’s water system has been continually improved upon since the first well was drilled in 1926. As part of a major system upgrade, the water plant was built  and put into operation in April of 1968. Since that time there have been numerous plant upgrades that include changing from a lime softening process to a direct filtration with aeration process. Seven wells drilled 150 to 275 feet into the Floridian aquifer provide the raw (untreated) water to this 2.2 million gallon per day capacity Class “B” treatment plant.

Raw Water Well Pump
The 7 supply wells are consolidated into a concentrated well field located within the Town’s limits where ground water is available in an adequate amount to meet demand. The quality of the well water entering the plant is generally good. However, some treatment is required to ensure that the water delivered to your home or business is both safe to drink and esthetically pleasing.

Aeration and Pretreatment Tank
All wells enter the treatment plant within a common pipe leading to the aeration / sedimentation tank. Aeration is used to oxidize iron, manganese and sulfides in addition to stripping hydrogen sulfide (rotten egg smell) from the raw water.  Chlorine is then added to further oxidize iron, manganese and sulfides. This pre-treated water then flows to the filters to remove solids.

Filtration
After the aeration and pretreatment  units, water goes to the dual-media filters to have suspended particles removed. The water is allowed to percolate (flow downward) through layers of media. After approximately 48 hours of operation, the filters get "dirty" from suspended particles they have trapped. A filter is cleaned by backwashing it with treated water and large volumes of compressed air. A cleaning cycle uses 40,000 gallons of water, which is allowed to flow into a recovery basin. Once sediments are removed, the water is recycled to be used on the Town’s soccer fields or pumped to the wastewater plant.

Clearwell/Pump Room
The pretreated and filtered raw water then flows into the 100,000 gallon clearwell. Variable speed high service pumps maintain a stable system pressure of 56psi by pumping water into the distribution system from the clearwell through the 16-inch discharge main.

Chlorinators
To prevent bacterial contamination in Belleair's water distribution system, gaseous chlorine is injected from these chlorinators at several points in the treatment process. The water is also treated with precisely measured amounts of fluoride. Fluoridation has been shown to reduce the incidence in children's tooth decay by over 60 percent and is highly recommended by dentists and government health agencies.

Ground Storage/Standby Generator
One 500,000 gallon and one 300,000 gallon ground storage reservoirs hold treated water to meet peak demands and emergency situations. The plant is also equipped with a 500 KWH standby unit to generate power in the event of an electrical outage. If needed, this generator can easily enable the plant to pump over half its maximum daily demand for extended periods.

Control Room
All pumping, treatment, and distribution aspects of the plant operation are computer controlled. The automated systems monitor pressure and flow throughout the plant and service area, making adjustments as necessary. In emergency situations, plant operations personnel can assume manual control.

The links below are offered to further explain the functions of Water Distribution

The Water Department is also responsible for building and maintaining the approximately 80 miles of pipelines that water travels to reach businesses and homes of Belleair Residents. The Department maintains more than 150 fire hydrants, 1600 Cold Water Meters and 200 Backflow Prevention Devices.

Backflow Prevention
Backflow Prevention devices keep the water supply safe. Visit this link to learn more about them.
Meter Shop
Cold water meters are rebuilt and tested in the Meter Shop. Technicians change out meters at the end of the effective life cycle.
Utilities Locating
When homeowners and other utilities excavate soil our locators identify our facilities to prevent damage to the water lines.
Fire Hydrants
With more than 150 hydrants in the system the hydrant maintenance crew is very busy.