The Canton Water Department obtains 100% of its water from underground wells. Our wells extend hundreds of feet deep into sand and gravel aquifers that were created long ago by glacial activity. These natural aquifers provide Canton with an average of 24 million gallons of water per day. We have three separate well fields that supply water to our three water treatment plants.
Backup Measures
Should the need ever arise, we have several protective backup systems built into our utility that enable us to ensure a dependable flow of drinking water to our consumers. As previously mentioned, Canton has three separate water treatment plants and well fields. If one plant is taken off-line, the other two plants can make up the difference in water production.
Enclosed Reservoirs
The City also has 27 million gallons of drinking water stored in enclosed reservoirs. This quantity represents about one day's supply of water and is kept in reserve as a precautionary measure. Another backup system is the new 2,100 horsepower Caterpillar Diesel generator. This powerful generator can provide enough electrical power to operate our Sugarcreek Plant in the event of a widespread power outage.
Interconnections
We also have two interconnections with the North Canton Water System which are normally kept in a closed position. In an emergency, however, these valves could be opened and potable water supplied to our system or vice versa depending on the need. All of the redundant and overlapping "backup" systems described above ensure that the Canton Water Department can provide a dependable supply of drinking water to all of our consumers.