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The Northampton Water Company began operating in 1820, and the City of Allentown purchased this water system in 1869.

Today, the Allentown's Bureau of Water Resources serves 34,000 customers (with an average daily demand of 20 million gallons per day) within the city as well as most of Salisbury Township and portions of South Whitehall and Hanover (Lehigh County) townships. In addition, Whitehall Township Authority relies on Allentown during peak demand periods. The Bureau is responsible for water treatment, water distribution, sewage collection, sewage treatment and storm water, and employs 22 water filtration employees and 48 water distribution employees.

Allentown's Bureau of Water Resources draws water from the Little Lehigh Creek, the Lehigh River, Schantz Spring and Crystal Spring. The Bureau owns and operates a 30-million-gallon-per-day water treatment plant that includes coagulation/flocculation, lamella plate clarification and dual media high-rate filtration for surface water. All sources are disinfected. The treatment plant was upgraded from 1994 - 1997 and includes a state-of-the-art computerized process control system

"To provide high quality water to our customer ..."

The City of Allentown Water Filtration Plant went through a $20 million modernization upgrade that was completed in December 1997. Treatment facilities built in 1928 were converted into a water quality lab and administrative area. Treatment facilities built in 1958 were modernized with a completely new electrical system, computerized process control system, new flocculators, clarifiers, backwash equalization basins and sludge thickeners. In addition, more instrumentation was installed for greater process control. In early 1995, the plant staff chose to set major quality standards at a level that is conservatively 50% more strict than the same Federal and State Regulatory Requirements.

Awards: 1998 Friend of the Lehigh River Award; 1998 Diamond Award for Engineering Excellence from the Consulting Engineers Council of PA for Innovation in Water Treatment Plant Design.

Memberships: American Water Works Association; American Water Works Association Research Foundation; Water Environment Federation; Water Resources Association of the Delaware River Basin Commission; PA Water Environment Association; PA Section American Water Works Association.

Mission Statements:

• Water Filtration -- To provide, in accordance with regulatory requirements and utilizing recognized operational, maintenance and laboratory procedures, a safe and plentiful supply of drinking water. Similarly, to effectively maintain & support all related programs mandated under the Public Drinking Water Law and Amendments.
• Water Distribution -- To provide, through a combination of inspection, upgrading, replacement and repair, for the maintenance of the piping system through which water is conveyed.