The tap water in our community comes from the R. C Water Treatment Plant which is located at the foot of Victoria Park Avenue. It treats the water coming from the Lake Ontario by first adding chlorine to kill the microorganisms in the pre - chlorination stage. And then alum is also added to make the other small particles such as silt to combine together. These added chemical is mixed with water mechanically to produce even bigger larger group of particles called floc. The heavy floc drops out of the water in a settling tank and is collected at the bottom which are removed from the water. The cleaner water stays at the surface and is then transferred to filtering basin, which is made up of gravel, fine sand and carbon (anthracite). The purpose of the sand is to filter the finer bits of floc and silt while the layer of carbon (anthracite) is used to remove the odor and taste produced by the chemical in the water. After that, purified water goes into holding basin for distribution. Additional amount of chlorine is added to kill the remaining harmful organisms in the water. The excess chlorine however, is removed using sulfur dioxide. They also add fluoride during the water treatment to help prevent cavities. The last stage of the treatment is the addition of ammonia to stabilize the chlorine water to make sure the water is safe to drink as it is being distributed through the distribution pipes into peoples homes.
                 The water cost in our community is $2.4897 per cubic meter which I think is a very fair cost because the water is pretty clean and potable and it really feels safe to drink them compared to the cost that we use in buying bottled water. Although the water  comes from a ground water (Lake Ontario), the process of treating the water to convert into drinking water is acceptable.


Resources: http://www.toronto.ca/water/system_quality/pdf/2011_wts_annual_report.pdf
http://www.toronto.ca/water/publications/index.htm

Resources:
City of Toronto. (2008). Drinking Water System Regulation. Retrieved from http://www.toronto.ca/water/system_quality/pdf/2011_wts_annual_report.pdf