Below is an overview of the city's water and wastewater treatment plants that serve a population of approximately 600,000, throughout Raleigh, Garner, Rolesville, Wake Forest, Knightdale, Wendell, and Zebulon.Water Treatment PlantsWastewater Treatment PlantsTreatment Plant ToursDo you know how water gets to your faucet and the processes that happen to ensure its quality and safety?Have you ever wondered what happens to the dirty water from your shower, bath, laundry and toilet after it goes down the drain...
Below is an overview of the city's water and wastewater treatment plants that serve a population of approximately 600,000, throughout Raleigh, Garner, Rolesville, Wake Forest, Knightdale, Wendell, and Zebulon.
Water Treatment Plants
Wastewater Treatment Plants
Treatment Plant Tours
Do you know how water gets to your faucet and the processes that happen to ensure its quality and safety?
Have you ever wondered what happens to the dirty water from your shower, bath, laundry and toilet after it goes down the drain?
We invite you to take a free tour of our water or wastewater treatment plants to find out how our utility system works.
E.M. Johnson Water Treatment Plant
Treats water from Falls Lake:
Recognition:
Dempsey E. Benton Water Treatment Plant
Treats water from Lake Benson:
Recognition
Neuse River Resource Recovery Facility (formerly Neuse River Wastewater Treatment Plant)
Volume
Recognition
Smith Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant
Originally served Wake Forest & Transferred to Raleigh on July 1, 2005
Volume
Recognition
Little Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant
Originally served Zebulon & Transferred to Raleigh on October 1, 2006
Volume
Recognition
Wrenn Road Facility
The Wrenn Road Facility, located in Garner, became a City asset upon utility system merger agreement with the Town of Garner. Consisting of over 600 acres of fields and woodlands, the facility was originally used to treat wastewater collected from the sewer system serving most of the Garner area. The facility has not received waste from the sewer system since 2008, when all wastewater flow was permanently redirected to the Neuse River Resource Recovery Facility. Operations at this site have since been repurposed for the management of residuals generated by operation of the Dempsey E. Benton Water Treatment Plant. These residuals are composed of the lake sediments and other particles that are removed from the water during the production of potable water. Water plant residuals are currently land applied and irrigated onto hay fields, and hay is baled and sold to local area farmers.
Water Treatment Process
The treatment process used at the new Dempsey E. Benton Water Treatment Plant begins with adding ozone to the raw water and ends with ultraviolet (UV) disinfection and chloramination.
Suspended solids is coagulated with ferric sulfate, settled in a solids contact clarifier, and gravity fed through a two-stage filtration system.
The filtered water is then disinfected with both ultraviolet light and chloramines before it is stored in a 5-million gallon, on-site storage reservoir. From the storage reservoir, water is pumped directly to customers in Raleigh and Garner.
Wastewater Treatment Process
Advanced or tertiary treatment means that wastewater undergoes three stages of treatment: primary, secondary and advanced treatment.