The Woods

Issue date: 4/29/09 Section: News

The water from the water fountains at SMWC starts out in wells 63 feet underground in an aquifer in the Rosary Hill area, north of SMWC's campus.

What is an aquifer? An aquifer is a water bearing layer of earth that is contained between layers of rock. The illustration is of an aquifer similar to the one that supplies the Saint Mary-of-the-Woods campus with its water. Because the aquifer lies on a bed of rock, the water picks up minerals and calcium, which make the water hard. This might sound like a bad thing, but the water is perfectly safe to drink after it has been filtered and treated.

From the wells, the water travels to the Sisters of Providence water treatment plant, behind O'shaughnessy Dining Hall. Here Becky Pittman, water plant operator, along with her staff, treats the water. Becky Pittman and Rose Ann Eaton, S.P., associate director of facilities management, took my journalism class on a tour of the plant, I am thoroughly convinced that the water here is more than safe to drink.

Pittman tests the water every single day for things such as ph, iron, and chlorine levels. The water in O'Shaughnessy can be tested by the county board of health at any time, and it is tested once a month by the state.

Once the water leaves the treatment plant it travels throughout the campus. It takes its trip through 6-inch pipes that run underground throughout the campus to all of the buildings. Much of it is stored in the water tower behind SMWC's Hulman Hall. From there it gravity fed as it is needed.

Once in Le Fer the water becomes the responsibility of workers such as maintenance and housekeeping. Housekeeping cleans the water fountains every day, so they are safe to drink from. Any green or blue discoloration around the spout is from mineral deposits such as iron and will not harm you. Pittman and Eaton said that any orange tint to the water or weird taste is due to the water not getting used enough. They said the more it is used, the more new fresh water runs through the pipes, which means clearer, better tasting water. So use the water more and it will taste better.

A good way of doing this is to run the water for a few minutes before drinking it. This should be done especially after long breaks such as winter or spring, in order to get the water to be clear. I know form my own personal experiences that the water in my bathroom had an orange tint to it when I returned after winter break. Again, this was because the water had been sitting in the pipes for about three weeks and had accumulated iron from the inside of the pipes. When Le Fer is not used as much in the summer, Pittman sends her crew to flush the pipes to pull fresh water through, she said.

Pittman has copies of consumer confidence reports she receives each year. It explains the testing that is done. The water facility at the Sisters of Providence is a public water system and is required by the state of Indiana to have certain tests. - Katie Barnes, staff writer

Page 1 of 1

Article Tools