Water Purification

Water Purification has a long and significant history in the City of Lorain. Our first municipal water plant and distribution system were placed into service in 1884. However, at the time water was simply pumped out of the Black River into the wooden pipes of the distribution system without treatment. A typhoid epidemic in 1893 was believed to have resulted from the lack of filtration. In 1896 construction of a water purification plant was authorized. Lorain became the first plant in the United States to start construction for the express purpose of filtering all the water to remove bacteria. The primary source for the potable water intake was switched to Lake Erie with the Black River intake as only a secondary source. Today, all water is drawn from a crib 26.5 feet deep and 2,800 feet out in Lake Erie from outside the breakwall.

Testing & Treatment

Over the years, Lorain’s water treatment plant has kept up with the stringent improvement in treatment requirements first determined and administered by the Department of Health, and more recently the Ohio EPA. Upwards of a dozen of our plant personnel are state certified in the laboratory to perform hourly tests. Our testing includes continuous monitoring of the filtration effluent and the levels of chlorine residual used as a disinfectant. Our operators and staff work hard, 24 hours a day, seven days a week to keep the water safe for the citizens of Lorain. We take great pride in producing a quality product!

Report

Read the Consumer Confidence Report.