Bartonville Water Supply Corporation (BWSC) offers tours of the facilities upon request. BWSC extends that invitation to Internet public as well through the creation of this Virtual Tour. This tour will take you through the process of water supply. Please click on the blue hyperlinks to see explanations and realtime information about the highlighted word. Don't forget to try your hand on the SCADA system at the bottom of this page.

BWSC has 7 well stations with 10 wells in the Trinity and Paluxy Aquifers. These aquifers have varying levels throughout the year and are monitored by the USGS (See levels). These wells run on a predetermined schedule that is computer controlled. Controlled by a radio linked computer system called a SCADA system, the wells run in a prescribed order to rest some while others continue to recharge the system. In order to meet the peaks of high demand during the summer months as well as future growth, BWSC has contracted with the Upper Trinity Regional Water District (UTRWD) to supply extra water. What the wells can't supply, the UTRWD can.

Unfortunately, this "treated" water has a high price. Due to peaks in service during the summer months, high peak demands make the reservation of treated water a must. Treated water is drawn from the Upper Trinity River Basin and local lakes into a UTRWD treatment facility on Treatment Plant Rd. in Lewisville. The water is then settled in tanks, then after chemical, ozone and light treatments it flows into pipelines for distribution into the various surrounding North Texas cities. All member cities pay the same purchase price for water with from the UTRWD.

Ground water (well water) is derived from drilling into the earth until a sufficient depth is reached to tap into an aquifer. Aquifers are porous rock layers that contain water. Holes are drilled deep into the earth and the shaft is lined with pipe. The well head is then capped with cement after well pump installation, and a connecting pipe runs to the ground storage tanks with chlorination treatment prior to storage. (See photo at left). The well pump is a series of motors that are joined together (see photo below) to provided sufficient lift to ground level. These motors are run by a small motor at the end of this long section. After the water is brought up from the aquifers, it is chlorinated through injection methods (see photo at lower right) and the levels are checked by personel every morning on inspection rounds. The water is then pumped to storage tanks. These storage tanks are of varying sizes. See the SCADA system to look at the tanks.

UTRWD's treated water takes a rather lonely journey down about 10 miles of pipe until it hits our receiving point at the Copper Hill Pump Station. The new 2 Million Gallon storage tank is designed specifically to receive and store this needed supply of water. UTRWD surface water is mixed into the flow of ground (well) water then pumped into the distribution system.

The elevated tank provides a gravity feed system for the service area. The height of the tank is necessary for the pressure enjoyed by the BWSC members. This water descends from the 136 foot tower storage by the same rules that Isaac Newton discovered over 315 years ago. Gravity pushes the water down, forcing it to the lowest point which is your faucet, shower, sprinkler, etc. Technology still relies on the basic principles of physics.

The new SCADA computer system gives BWSC greater control over water management. The system can tell BWSC's Water Superintendant whether demand calls for a higher output from individual pump stations located throughout the service area. Look below to try your hand at the SCADA system.

The SCADA system controls electronics for the turning on and off of pumps. These switches can be small or extremely large like the Copper Hill control Panels that Jim Leggieri, General Manager(r) is discussing at right.

The water going to residences passes through a meter which is read every 30 days. These readings are data entered into a computer billing system designed to flag abnormal usage. The Staff of BWSC double check the computers calculations visually to look for anomalies in usage. If there are any questionable usages the field technicians are sent to reread the suspicious meter. The computer system then posts the calculations for printing and starts the printer on its hour long print job.

Bills are then sorted and given a final trip to the United States Post Office in Argyle. The entire time this process is happening the field technicians and water superintendant are responding to broken mains, line locations, routine maintenance and special projects in coordination with the office and customer requests. The process of delivering high quality, affordable drinking water to a fast growing area is the main focus of BWSC. It is the hope of the corporation to form lasting relationships with members, in turn leading to the responsible use of water.

Below is the SCADA system screen and it is your turn to take the reigns of the service area. Click on the yellow pumps on the image to see the resources you are employing. This is very similar to controlling the flow of the water by pushing with certain stations and resting others. Keep in mind that there are 6 other wells to mind while you are concentrating on one.