Water Department

The Bethel Water Department operates and maintains the municipal water system and strives to provide a safe and reliable water supply that meets or exceeds all regulatory requirements at the lowest possible cost. The Bethel Water Department system is located in the downtown and southwestern portions of Bethel. 

The Bethel Water Department produced over 900,000 gallons per day from the groundwater and surface water supplies. The groundwater source at the Maple Avenue Wells supplies all of the water to the system. The 2 surface water supplies at the Chestnut Ridge Reservoir and the Eureka Lake Reservoir are currently offline and available for emergency activation. The water is treated and distributed through a system that includes 39 miles of pipe, 5 pump stations and 3 storage tanks. 

Water Treatment Description: Groundwater from the Maple Avenue Wells is of very high quality and is treated with sodium hypochlorite for disinfection and a polyphosphate blend for corrosion control. This groundwater source is considered to be hard water. Hard water does not have any known negative health effects but has some aesthetic effects (scale buildup on appliances and surfaces). See the "Hardness Fact Sheet". 

Groundwater from the new Bergstrom Well will be treated through a greensand filtration system to remove the iron and manganese present in this source water. It will also be treated with sodium hypochlorite for disinfection and a polyphosphate blend for corrosion control. This source is currently under construction and will have enough capacity to meet the system's water supply needs.