completed in 1874. The Chestnut Street Water Treatment Plant and Sommerheim Water Treatment Plant filter water received from Lake Erie and the Sommerheim Reservoir, which is spring fed. Sommerheim pumps of water per day to homes and businesses in Erie and surrounding communities. Erie Water Works is the second largest consumer of electricity in Erie after GE Transportation. As a result of a vulnerability assessment conducted by the Department of Homeland Security, the Sommerheim plant is to receive a new power generation facility to back up its Penelec electrical service. The facility, which will cost $1.2 million, is to consist of two diesel-powered electric generators with a day tank and a bulk storage fuel tank. Organization As of 4 April 1867, three water commissioners were appointed by the judge of the Court of Common Pleas to serve staggered three-year terms: Henry Rawle, William Ward Reed (1 April 1824 - 10 January 1904) , and William Lawrence Scott. The Water Works, also known as the Erie City Water Authority, took over the Erie Water Systems as of 1 January 1992. The Erie Times-News suggests that the Water Authority replaced the Water System in 1989. Politics The mayoral election of 1867 hinged on water issues, especially whether water should be collected from Presque Isle Bay or from local spring water. An effort to stop fluoridation of the water supply was debated in late 2001, but no referendum was added to the November 2001 ballot. Council members threatened to temporarily disband the Erie City Water Authority to remove its board members if they persisted in their plans to fluoridate the water. A $21 million development project is aimed at improving water quality at the Sommerheim treatment plant in three phases, with completion expected by early 2009. Filtration is currently handled with a sand and charcoal process, achieving turbidity levels of 0.1 - 0.2 NTU. Replacement of the current system is being weighed against installation of a new sophisticated membrane system at $5 million to $7 million additional cost, adjusting the total cost of the project to as much as $28 million. The membrane system would help the city anticipate new federal water treatment standards, lower pre-treatment costs, and achieve turbidity levels of 0.004 NTU, 125 times better than the state standard of 0.5 NTU. Plans have been laid for an extension of water service to the Borough of McKean, Pennsylvania References External links