Water Treatment Plant
The Water Treatment Plant (WTP) staff provides customer service and maintains the Downtown WTP and the South WTP. The Plant provides partial water softening of the groundwater and surface water sources, as well as filtration and disinfection, as required to meet federal and state drinking water standards. The water is chemically treated to meet or exceed the standards of the Kansas State Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Compliance with those standards is assured by extensive testing in both the plant and throughout the complete water distribution system.
The Downtown Plant has a total treatment capacity of 20 MGD from the combination of groundwater and surface water drawing groundwater from 21 wells located within the City of Salina is piped to the Plant for purification and treatment prior to public consumption. A total of 15 million gallons per day (MGD) can be supplied from the well system. Surface Water is supplied from the Smoky Hill River in Salina. A pumping station, located along the cutoff channel, delivers the water to the plant for purification and treatment prior to public consumption. A total of 10 MGD of surface water is available from this source.
The South Plant provides partial water softening of the groundwater, as well as filtration and disinfection, as required to meet federal and state drinking water standards and has a total treatment capacity of 3.5 MGD drawing groundwater from 4 wells located to the southeast of the City of Salina (South Well Field).
Wastewater Treatment Plant
The Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP) staff provides customer service and maintains the WWTP. Treatment includes preliminary screening with grit removal, primary clarification, trickling filters, activated sludge, and ultraviolet disinfection. The WWTP has a permitted design flow of 7.25 Million Gallons per Day (MGD) with a current average daily flow of 3.55 MGD. Total wastewater treated in 2020 was 1.39 billion gallons. A total of 890 tons of biosolids (a beneficial byproduct of wastewater treatment) were produced and applied to area farmland for beneficial use. The wastewater generated by the City is treated to standards specified by the KDHE and discharged to the Smoky Hill River. A total of 12 industrial users are permitted and monitored to ensure discharge water meets the City’s Industrial Pretreatment requirements.
Water Distribution
The Water Distribution staff provides customer service and maintains the Water Distribution System, which consists of eight elevated water storage tanks on five separate pressure zones, five pressure booster pump stations, 337 miles of water main, 4,448 valves, 2,481 fire hydrants, and 21,056 water services and meters.
Wastewater Collection
The Wastewater Collection staff provides customer service and maintains the Wastewater Collection System, which consists of 236 miles of gravity sanitary sewer mains, 20.2 miles of force main, 4,963 manholes, and 60 wastewater pump stations.