Source of Supply

The City of Worthington provides drinking water to its residents from groundwater sources which include two wells located within the City itself and seven wells located in the area known as the Lake Bella Well Field. The wells range in depth from 57 to 102 feet and draw water from the Quaternary Buried Artesian Aquifer and the Quaternary Water Table Aquifer. We have the capability of pumping and processing approximately 3,500 gallons per minute or 5,000,000 gallons per day. The average water consumption per day for 2013 was 2,866,515 gallons with the largest day being 4,276,000 gallons.

Treatment Facilities

Worthington Public Utilities’ water treatment plant is an iron and manganese removal plant utilizing greensand media gravity filters. The current maximum daily supply capacity of the plant is five million gallons per day.

Water Quality

Worthington’s current water quality meets all the primary drinking water regulations of the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA).

CURRENT PROCESS
Total Dissolved Solids, mg/l	573
PH	7.3
Alkalinity, mg/l	240
Iron, mg/l	<0.02
Manganese, mg/l	<0.01
Total Hardness, mg/l	420
Nitrate + Nitrite Nitrogen Total, mg/l	0.07

*None detected or below Method Detection Limit

WATER SOFTENER HARDNESS SETTING

WORTHINGTON WATER SOFTENER HARDNESS SETTING

Water softeners have a few basic parameters which need to be set in order for them to function properly. Worthington Public Utilities can supply the hardness level parameter which can be expressed in either milligrams per leter (mg/L) as Calcium Carbonate or Grains per Gallon (GPG). Worthington blends our local well water with purchased water from the Lewis and Clark Regional Water System as approximately a 1:1 ratio. Together this water typically yields a hardness range of 290 - 324 mg/L as Calcium Carbonate. Many softeners request these numbers in grains per gallon (GPG) which can easily be derived as a quotient from the above range by dividing the mg/L numbers by 17.1.

                                Examples     (290 (mg/L))/17.1 ((mg/L) per GPG) = 16.96 GPG
                                                   (324 (mg/L))/17.1 ((mg/L) per GPG) = 18.95 GPG

                                                        WPU suggests a range of 17-19 GPG

You'll know you need to increase this setting if you notice your water hardness increase between regeneration cycles. This can be noticed if you have trouble achieving suds while shampooing hair or washing hands. Many people complain of itchy skin if they bathe in hard water. On the other hand, if you never notice hard water there is a chance you could back this number off.

WPU encourages our customers to review their softener settings. A properly set water softener will reduce your salt usage, reduce your water consumption, increase your soap effectiveness and prevent scale buildup on fixtures and in appliances. All of this means savings to you. Once these settings are correct you should not have to worry about them again. If you are uncomfortable with changing settings please consult a professional.