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Did you know that about 70 percent of the earth's surface is made up of water? Or that our body is 70 percent water? Water is very important, especially clean water.
JEA delivers more than 80 million gallons of water each day to our customers. But before we can deliver it, we must first make sure it is clean. To do this, JEA operates more than 30 water treatment plants and takes care of 2,800 miles of water lines.
What is Water? A water molecule is called H2O. It is made of two hydrogen atoms and one oxygen atom. Water comes in three forms: gas, liquid or solid. It is found in the air, on and under the ground and in ice.
Where do We Get Our Water? Some people get their drinking water from surface water. This includes oceans, rivers, lakes and streams.
We receive our drinking water from groundwater. Groundwater is found in Aquifers. Aquifers are layers of rock, gravel and sand that store water. JEA's water source, the Floridan Aquifer, lies more than 400 feet below the earth's surface. This Aquifer is under all of Florida, southern Georgia and small parts of Alabama and South Carolina, a total of about 100,000 square miles!
The rain supplies the aquifer with water. It is part of a water cycle:
- Water vapor gathers in clouds. Wind cools the vapor, turning it into a liquid (rain) or a solid (snow, hail or sleet).
- Gravity makes the water fall to the earth.
- Some water runs across the land into bodies of surface water.
- Other water soaks into the ground.
- This water is stored in the ground in Aquifers.
- The sun heats surface water turning it into vapor that rises into the sky.
How Do We Get Water? We drill wells deep into the Aquifer. Pumps draw the water from the Aquifer and take it to our water treatment plants. At the plant, the water is aerated to remove gases that affect water quality. This means that air is passed under pressure through the water.
Then we mix chlorine into the water to disinfect it or make it clean.
How does Water Get to My House? After JEA makes sure that the water is healthy, it is sent throughout the area through a system of pipes.
What Then? Water enters your home through a meter. It then goes to the plumbing system of your house!
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