City of Bradenton

The City of Bradenton's water treatment operates continuously, 24 hours a day. State-certified operators conduct hourly monitoring of various water quality parameters, with results reported monthly to regulatory agencies. Since its construction in 1990, the plant has undergone several upgrades to improve operational efficiency and effectiveness.

Our water treatment process includes multiple steps to ensure safety and quality:

• Raw water from our reservoir passes through screens to remove debris, then receives Powder Activated Carbon treatment to eliminate taste and odor issues
• pH adjustment facilitates coagulation, where fine particles clump together for easier removal
• Coagulant aids bond with particles to create "floc" that settles in our four settling tanks
• Water moves to stabilization for pH adjustment before passing through twelve filters that remove remaining fine particles
• Disinfection occurs with chloramines (a safer alternative to chlorine alone) followed by fluoridation as mandated by voter referendum
• Treated water receives corrosion inhibitor treatment before being pumped to ground storage tanks and distribution towers throughout the city

The Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) of 1974 established monitoring requirements for treatment facilities, with the 1986 amendments further improving drinking water quality standards. This law requires water utilities to provide annual water quality reports to consumers.

Each contaminant is monitored on different schedules based on population served, violation history, and health risk factors. Multi-unit housing facilities should display this report in visible areas accessible to all residents.

Some individuals may be more vulnerable to contaminants than the general population. Those with compromised immune systems, such as cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy, organ transplant recipients, people with HIV/AIDS, some elderly individuals, and infants may face higher infection risks. These individuals should consult healthcare providers about their drinking water. Guidelines for reducing infection risks are available from the Safe Drinking Water Hotline at 1-800-426-4791.

In 2016, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection updated the Source Water Assessment for our system. This assessment identifies potential contamination sources near our water intakes. One high-potential source was identified, and the complete assessment results are available at www.dep.state.fl.us/swapp. Our Utility Operations Department uses this information to design comprehensive monitoring programs throughout our watershed and reservoir.

Potential contaminants in source water include:

• Microbial contaminants from sewage treatment plants, septic systems, agricultural operations, and wildlife
• Inorganic contaminants like salts and metals from urban runoff, industrial discharges, oil/gas production, mining, or farming
• Pesticides and herbicides from agriculture, urban stormwater runoff, and residential uses
• Organic chemical contaminants from industrial processes, petroleum production, gas stations, stormwater runoff, and septic systems
• Radioactive contaminants that occur naturally or result from oil/gas production and mining activities

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