Metropolitan Water District of

          Salt Lake & Sandy

Flocculation

Once all of the chemicals are mixed, floc will start to form.  This process is called flocculation.

If you try to pick up a handful of paper clips with a magnet, you will have to move the magnet around to pick them all up.  The same thing occurs with the formation of the floc particles.  In order for them to get bigger, they need to collide with other particles in the water.  The colliding of particles is called flocculation.

This process uses large paddles that turn very slowly to increase the chances that the floc will collide with other particles. These paddles resemble the paddle wheels found on old river boats. If you visit the flocculation link you can see a birds eye view of the flocculation paddles under water. They are found in the first basin of the water treatment process.