John Scarffe, Black Hawk. Black Hawk City Council members toured the new $5 million Water Treatment Plant at 1040 Dory Hill Road at 1 p.m. on Wednesday, May 24, 2017. Utility Water Operator Michael Sutton operates the plant and maintains the water distribution system.

Mayor David Spellman said the City had a small plant before gaming began. “It’s changed a lot.” The plant was funded through a $22 million bond that included the funds for the $5 million plant.

The old plant had only one main room and one computer. Sutton said the old building didn’t have a break room or anything, but the new one does. “The plant runs really well.”

Sutton has been working at the water plant for almost eight years. “I got to see the whole thing change,” he said. “It took a lot of patience.”

Computers with the SCADA software system tie the operation together, Sutton said. The plant has a control room with three operators for the SCADA system. “If that goes down, nothing works.”

The plant has two large reservoirs, and the plant sits on top of one them with 900,000 gallons of water. It contains 24 filters, and they regularly test the turbidity. “It’s .019 today,” Sutton said.

The plant processes 240,000 gallons of water a day, so they are equipped for a rainy day, Sutton said. Memorial Day weekend is the busiest weekend of the year with the plant processing between 500,000 to 600,000 gallons, Sutton said.

They run as little water through the plant as they must to fill the demand in case of fire or another emergency, Sutton said.

They also have water available from Hidden Valley, but it takes more processing because of metals in the water.

Operator Chris Vincent said the plant can sustain a pretty low water level, and if it got too low they would go to Hidden Valley, but that would be pumping in creek water.

“This is the lifeblood of the City,” Spellman said. “Without it we can all go home. The only thing we lack is storage.” He would like the plant to be able to supply 3,000 hotel rooms, which the City has planned for the future.

A safe room with a separate outside entrance in the back of the building contains chlorine. The room is locked and can require protective gear to enter. The chlorine is then injected into the water as it comes into the building from the reservoir and is stored in tall, black tubes in the basement. Soda ash, which controls the PH level to around eight, also is injected.

“This is where it all starts,” Sutton said. The water with the chlorine and soda ash needs at least a half an hour of sitting in the tubes before it becomes drinking water. After a half an hour to two hours, the water is sent to tanks upstairs. The old water plant building is now the water control room.

Backwashers in the plant run off of air, and they don’t add any chemicals, Sutton said. The water comes in from the top, and the air pushes it into filters. A pump recycles the very acidic water.

The water goes through a big green tank in a separate room and then into yellow vats, where the soil is separated from the water with a coagulant. The soil sticks into mud balls, and then the water goes into the filters.

Spellman said the operators take good care of the plant and keep it clean. Sutton said, “If it’s trashed and dirty, what will they think of the water?”

At the end of the City Council meeting later that day, Spellman said, “Michael did an outstanding job on the tour and it’s all very impressive”