United Water Idaho takes great pride in its ability to provide you with safe, high quality drinking water. We use a combination of surface and groundwater. Approximately 80% of your water is supplied from 88 wells located throughout the Boise area. The remaining 20% of your water comes from two surface water treatment plants (Marden Water Treatment Plant and Columbia Water Treatment Plant) which treat water from the Boise River.

Water from our wells is treated with small amounts of disinfectant to protect against potentially hazardous microorganisms that can get into the water. We also feed very low doses of polyphosphate at 17 of our wells to sequester minerals and keep your water clear.

Surface water from the Boise River is treated at our Marden Plant using an innovative upflow clarification process. This treatment process involves subsequent filtering to remove particulate matter, followed by disinfection with chlorine to destroy any harmful bacteria. In addition, we adjust the pH to reduce the corrosivity of the water and decrease the possibility of dissolving metals from household plumbing.

The Columbia Treatment Plant uses state-of-the art membrane filtration technology to prevent minute particles from passing through to the finished water.

• Treatment process

Source of Supply

Delivery capacity	97 million gallons per day
Water treatment plants	2 with a capacity of 24.3 million gallons/day
Operating wells	88
Average well volume	560 gallons per minute
Average well depth	550 feet
Deepest well	1,120 feet

Water Usage in 2004

Water delivered	15.5 billion gallons
Average daily usage	43 million gallons
Peak usage	93 million gallons
Minimum day usage	20 million gallons

Distribution System

System coverage	160 square miles
Pressure zones	10
Water mains	1043 miles
Main size	2 inches to 30 inches
Reservoirs	33
Reservoir capacity	33 million gallons
Booster stations	41

United Water Idaho's water system consists of a large number of widely separated facilities. This makes it necessary to use a high level of automation to provide an uninterrupted supply of quality water.

Automation begins with a network of highly reliable sensors that monitor thousands of important pieces of information which include system pressures, flows and levels. These sensors send this information to more than 120 remote terminal units (RTUs) that are capable of operating all of our pumps and valves in response to changing system conditions.

The RTUs report system conditions to the supervisory control and data acquisition system (SCADA) at our office on Victory Road for display and further control action as necessary. RTU information is transmitted using a combination of radio channels and dedicated phone lines providing a complete system update in less than one minute.

The SCADA system is the eyes and ears of the most important piece of our water production and automated control system -- our trained and certified operators, technicians, engineers and managers. SCADA gives them the essential information they need to provide a plentiful supply of clean, clear water for all your needs.

United Water Idaho's goal is to provide you with water that meets or surpasses all the standards for safe drinking water. These health and safety standards are set by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality (ID DEQ). Our United Water team works hard to provide you and your family with top quality water and premier service 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

To ensure the safety of your water, we monitor before, during and after the treatment process. All of our sources of supply are monitored and tested every year. We also sample and test water directly from the distribution system on a regular basis. We perform over 120 tests for bacteria every month. We also analyze for inorganic chemicals, heavy metals, volatile organic chemicals, pesticides, herbicides, and radionuclides. If problems are found, we discontinue use of the water source until we are certain it is safe.

United Water Idaho’s Water Quality Report provides important information about your drinking water. Both the EPA and the ID DEQ require water suppliers to mail a Water Quality Report (Consumer Confidence Report - CCR) to customers on an annual basis. You can download a portable document format (PDF) of our CCR. To view or print the CCR, please download the free Adobe Acrobat Reader. If you have specific questions about water as it relates to your personal health, we suggest that you contact your health care provider.

E-mail: uwid@unitedwater.com