Pinellas County opened up a brand new water treatment plant in Tarpon Springs Thursday. The plant supplies drinking water to 900,000 Pinellas County residents, including the towns of Clearwater, Pinellas Park, Largo, Safety Harbor and the beaches.
Pinellas County says the new drinking water treatment plant at S.K. Keller will help them improve the quality of the water you drink and cut down on the costs they pass on to you, which will help to keep your bill from going up.
The county added four new booster pumps that deliver approximately 55 million gallons of potable water per day to Pinellas County homes and businesses. The new treatment center is also built to withstand a Category 3 hurricane so you can get water during large storms.
The new treatment plant features a state-of-the art lab where staff will test the drinking water every 2 hours to make sure the chemicals in the water are safe.
However, Pinellas County Utilities Director Randi Kim tells ABC Action News they still use the controversial method of using chlorine to flush the water two times a year. The process is typically in April and September. The next chlorine flush is September 5-25. Environmental advocate Erin Brockovich called out the county for the process she deems as “unsafe” and "can cause cancer". An ABC Action News investigation found high levels of toxic chemicals in the water during our April investigation. You can read that story here.
Pinellas County insists the water coming out of your faucet is clean and safe.
