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| Q. |
Who owns the water you drink? |
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| A. |
 You
do. Over the past 20 years, you and 60,000 area residents have invested
nearly 200 million dollars into creating one of the most technologically
advanced water and wastewater systems on the east coast. Administered
by the Altoona City Authority, the excellence of the water supply
is a result of regular upgrades, effective management and an unwavering
commitment to keeping the water supply safe for future generations.
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| Q. |
Who is the Altoona City Authority? |
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| A. |
The Altoona City Authority is the largest combined publicly owned
water & wastewater operating authority between Harrisburg and
Pittsburgh . They provide water service to residents from the base
of Cresson Mountain to Tyrone, and wastewater services to the City
of Altoona and parts of Logan and Allegheny townships. The Altoona
City Authority employs approximately 140 local individuals dedicated
to providing the highest quality water & wastewater services.
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| Q. |
Who oversees the Altoona City Authority? |
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| A. |
The Altoona City Authority is an independent operation overseen
by a board of directors which is appointed by the Mayor and City Council
of the City of Altoona who are elected by the citizens.
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| Q. |
How is my money being spent? |
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| A. |
Rates paid by customers of Altoona City Authority are used
for the upgrade, construction and maintenance of this areas local
water /wastewater system. Over the past 20 years this community
has invested nearly 200 million dollars into creating one of the
most technologically advanced systems on the east coast. Plus, your
support of the publicly owned water supply provides on-demand service
to nearly 1900 hydrants system wide.
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| Q. |
What if you turned it on and nothing happened? |
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| A. |
 Call
949-2214. The Altoona City Authority has emergency personnel available
24/7. In the unlikely event of an emergency, the Altoona City
Authority maintains a 254 day supply of water to avoid disruption
of service to the 60,000 residents they serve. In addition, the
system design enables water to be drafted from multiple services
to allow for uninterrupted service.
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| Q. |
What is the infrastructure needed for our public water
supply? |
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| A. |
Dedicated to providing the finest drinking water available,
the Altoona City Authority manages a public water supply with 12
reservoirs, 1 well field, 7 treatment facilities, 16 storage tanks,
4 transfer pump stations and more than 375 linear miles of distribution
system. Over the past 20 years this community has invested nearly
200 million dollars into creating one of the most technologically
advanced systems on the east coast.
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| Q. |
What is the capacity of our water supply? |
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| A. |
Your public water system maintains a maximum reservoir capacity
of 2.85 billion gallons and a total treatment capacity of 30 million
gallons per day. This equates to a 254 day storage of water.
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| Q. |
In a system so big, aren't leaks possible? |
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| A. |
Leak detection is of great importance, and Altoona City Authority
personnel are assigned specifically to this task as a proactive
approach to water conservation and system maintenance.
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| Q. |
What is the quality of our water supply? |
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| A. |
The Altoona City Authority is dedicated to providing the finest
drinking water available that consistently meets or exceeds all
regulatory standards.
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| Q. |
Once it goes down the drain, then what? |
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| A. |
 Treatment,
treatment and more treatment. The Altoona City Authority manages
3200 manholes, 230 linear miles of sewer lines, three pumping stations
and two wastewater treatment facilities equipped the state-of-the-art
computerized process control systems. The result is excellent quality
effluent exceeding most regulatory standards.
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| Q. |
What happens to rainwater? |
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| A. |
Two combined sewer overflow facilities capture and store 1.5
million gallons of wastewater during rain events which is later
pumped to the treatment plants for proper treatment. During wet
weather, the Altoona City Authority utilizes these facilities to
capture the “first flush” from the combined sewer areas in order
to remove organic solids and debris which in past years went directly
to the stream. The solids removed from the wastewater are further
treated through a state-of-the-art process that yields a nutrient
rich fertilizer that enables local farmers to reduce reliance on
chemical fertilizers.
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| Q. |
How else does the Altoona City Authority help protect our
water supply? |
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| A. |
The Altoona City Authority oversees a federally approved Industrial
Pretreatment Program that aggressively permits and monitors 26 industries,
9 septic haulers, 40 restaurants and 5 supermarkets in our community.
In addition, the Altoona City Authority is also currently upgrading
sections of the wastewater collections system to eliminate hydraulic
overload that results from inflow/infiltration from roof gutters,
sump pumps, groundwater, etc.
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| Q. |
Who helps the fireman under intense pressure? |
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| A. |
 Your
support of the publicly owned water supply provides on-demand service
to nearly 1900 hydrants system wide. The Altoona City Authority
has an aggressive fire hydrant maintenance program, and regular
system upgrades have substantially increased the quality of fire
protection by increasing availability, water pressure and flow capacity
throughout the system. By working closely with local fire fighting
agencies, the Altoona City Authority is doing their part to protect
the future of this community.
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