CHICAGO (WLS) — The I-Crew acquired an unique behind-the-scenes tour of the most important typical water remedy plant on the earth, the Jardine Water Purification Plant close to Navy Pier.
Cameras have not been allowed inside since earlier than 9/11, when new safety measures have been enacted. ABC7 acquired an unique have a look at how your ingesting water is saved protected, and shielded from cyber threats.
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The Jardine Plant does not solely service the town of Chicago, but additionally delivers protected water to greater than 5 million individuals throughout 120 space suburbs. The I-Crew was granted unique entry for the primary time in over 20 years deep into the interior elements of the water plant to see how your water is handled and guarded.
The plant is the most important on the earth of its variety ,and considered one of two in Chicago pumping water to 4,300 miles of water mains.
The plant treats Lake Michigan water and converts it into ingesting water. Staff and engineers like Ed Salinas confirmed how large infrastructure is required to distribute the water.
“So we’re lifting about 500 million gallons a day and we are able to add one other pump if the demand was larger,” Salinas mentioned.
In a single room, water is lifted 20 ft from the lake and picked up.
“There’s water from two miles out,” Salinas mentioned.
MORE COVERAGE: See the I-Crew’s full protection of lead contamination in Chicago’s water system
Beneath are the pumps, considered one of which may pump 300 million gallons of water a day. They’re turned on and off based mostly on demand. Sometimes there are two in service, however the hotter summer time months imply there’s extra utilization.
“We would have three pumps in service, however there’s redundancy. There is a complete of eight pumps which can be accessible,” Salinas mentioned.
The purified water, the ultimate product as such, are held in swimming pools and goes by means of the sand filters.
“Then from there it will get collected and it goes to the reservoir and now to distribution,” Salinas mentioned. “It has all of the chemical compounds and meets all the necessities to be protected to drink from this level.”
The water is vigorously examined in a room with dozens of operating taps.
“On daily basis they carry out like 900 assessments and their schedule each hour to do sure assessments to make sure that they’ve the fitting chlorine, the fitting fluoride, of chloric acid and all these different chemical compounds,” mentioned Salinas.
Commissioner of the Chicago Division of Water Administration Randy Connor mentioned beside ensuring the water is protected to drink, his group additionally ensures it is protected from different exterior threats.
“We additionally check out our cybersecurity as nicely. And we run completely different assessments and completely different diagnostics each day. And we work with the FBI, CIA, Homeland Safety,” he mentioned.
However the water plant isn’t linked to the skin web, decreasing the chance of cyberthreats.
“As a result of we’re not linked to the Web. However we should all the time be leery of people that are available and produce their very own computer systems, individuals who are available and produce their very own flash drives, issues of that nature to herald their very own malware,” Conner mentioned. “So we’re all the time continuously operating our laptop diagnostics.”
The valves that assist management water movement are solely on an inside web connection on a community that lies solely within the property of this facility. Conner mentioned if the system was breached, it might put the water at risk.
“In the event that they’re capable of get in there, capable of change the dosages or the chemical compounds we put within the water, they’re going to be capable of entry quite a lot of the chemical compounds that we use and be capable of manipulate them. They will be capable of shut down pumps.”
Salinas additionally confirmed us the room the place a blended phosphate chemical is added to water to guard individuals from lead contamination from previous residence service traces. It supplies a coating contained in the pipes to forestall the metallic from leaching into the water.
Chicago’s ingesting water meets all U.S. Environmental Safety Company requirements and is lead-free.
Nevertheless, the town has probably the most lead pipes within the nation – an estimated 400,000 of them – linked to individuals’s properties which have been principally constructed earlier than 1986. The town has a lead line alternative program which has thus far up to date 6,500 of the 400,000 traces.
Connor mentioned the town is asking the state to increase the timeline to switch traces from 20 to 40 years and he is hoping Chicago qualifies for extra federal funds.
“Seeing that we’ve 400,000 led service traces, we want much more cash than most states mixed. We now have extra lead service traces within the metropolis of Chicago than 44 of the opposite states put collectively,” he mentioned.
There are a number of packages you’ll be able to qualify for to doubtlessly get lead service traces changed or get a reduction on the job. For extra data on free lead water testing or packages to get lead service traces changed. The CDC says no quantity of lead is protected for youngsters.
Click on right here to study extra about Chicago’s lead service alternative packages
Click on right here to study extra about city-issued take a look at kits
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