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Little Cottonwood Water Treatment Plant
The Little Cottonwood Water Treatment Plant (LCWTP) was completed in 1960 and was designed to treat 113 million gallons per day (MGD). The capacity of the plant was increased to 143 MGD in 2007. The improvements to the plant included a new 9 million gallon treated water reservoir, addition of ozone disinfection facilities, construction of a new diversion structure on Little Cottonwood Creek, improved flash mix and flocculation processes, and new raw water grit removal and screen facilities. The plant is positioned in line with the Salt Lake Aqueduct such that raw (untreated) water can enter the plant and finished (treated) water can be transported to terminal reservoir. The plant, located at the mouth of Little Cottonwood Canyon, also treats water from Little Cottonwood Creek and Bell Canyon. The Administration office building and laboratory are also located at the LCWTP.
Point of the Mountain Water Treatment Plant
The Point of the Mountain Water Treatment Plant (POMWTP) is the newest District facility. It was completed in August 2007 and has the capacity to treat 70 MGD with the capability to increase to 151 MGD. The plant features an open reservoir with an earthen embankment to hold 42 million gallons of raw water. Treated water is stored in two 10 million gallon enclosed concrete reservoirs. The plant uses state-of-the art disinfection processes: ozone, Ultra Violet disinfection, and conventional filters.
The Salt Lake Aqueduct is a 42 mile long pipeline which carries water from Deer Creek Reservoir in Wasatch County to a storage reservoir in Salt Lake City. Thirty-three miles of pipe carries untreated water and 9 miles of pipe carries treated water. Water travels by gravity through the entire length of the pipe. The aqueduct is constructed of 69 inch inside diameter concrete pipe. Each section of pipe is 20 feet in length and weighs 41,300 lbs. It has a 175 CFS (cubic feet per second) or 113 MGD design capacity. Construction of the aqueduct began in 1940 and was completed in 1951.
Point of the Mountain Aqueduct
The Point of the Mountain Aqueduct (POMA) is the connecting pipeline between the Point of the Mountain Water Treatment Plant in Draper and the Little Cottonwood Water Treatment Plant in Cottonwood Heights. The 60-inch inside diameter welded steel pipeline was completed in 2007. The aqueduct is capable of conveying 77 million gallons of water a day. For the first time the major water delivery systems in the Salt Lake Valley are connected. Before POMA was built, the SLA, located along the Wasatch Fault, and the Jordan Aqueduct system, located along the west side of the Salt Lake Valley, performed as largely independent systems. Another feature of the aqueduct is that water can flow North and South through POMA depending on the season.
The Jordan Narrows Pump Station is situated along the Jordan River on the Utah/Salt Lake County border. An exchange agreement with Utah Lake Distributing Company (ULD) requires the District to provide them with 115 CFS. In exchange, the District receives 65 CFS from Deer Creek. The Utah Lake Distributing Co. has two canals. The South Branch canal delivers water to the Saratoga Springs area and the North Branch canal delivers water to Bluffdale, Riverton, South Jordan, and West Jordan areas. The Jordan Narrows Pump station is actually two pumping systems (turbine and electric pumps) that can be used separately or together to pump water into the North and South Branch Canals.
After seven years of construction, the Terminal Reservoir Replacement Project (TRRP) is finally complete. Terminal reservoir is located at the end of the Salt Lake Aqueduct near Parleys Canyon. The original Terminal Reservoir was put into service in 1951 and consisted of two 20 million gallon concrete reservoirs. The new reservoir consists of 47.8 million gallons of storage and has improved operational capabilities. The reservoir provides critical water storage for fire protection and flexibility of water flows to allow for better distribution of water to Salt Lake City.
The 10 million gallon reservoir was put into service in 1991. This is an underground reservoir consisting of only one cell. Finished water runs from the Little Cottonwood Water Treatment Plant through the Salt Lake Aqueduct into this reservoir. From there it continues through the Salt Lake Aqueduct to Terminal Reservoir. The 10 MG reservoir provides Salt Lake City with needed fire protection for the south end of their distribution system and increases storage capacity.
The District supply is made up of sources from the Provo River, Little Cottonwood Creek, Bell Canyon Creek, Grove Creek, Battle Creek, and Strawberry Reservoir. These canyons of the Wasatch Mountains provide a high quality water source for approximately 400,000 people. The District, along with other affected parties, are proactively seeking to protect this valuable resource. The District has developed source protection plans to protect the watersheds. If interested in looking at specific source protection plans, please contact the District at 801-942-1391.
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