Kyle Schuster, chief operator of the Dunkirk Waterworks, points out the pumps that bring Lake Erie water into the plant. Photo by M.J. Stafford

The Dunkirk water system is complicated, technologically slick, well-monitored and able to handle a larger capacity than it does now. That was the takeaway from a recent tour led by city Department of Public Works Director Randy Woodbury.

The system supplies the city and the North County Water District — and Dunkirk officials think it can supply Fredonia, too. Woodbury offered a look at the treatment plant and pump station on Lake Shore Drive, along with the Willowbrook Avenue tank and Main Street Extension pumpers.

The tour started at the Lake Shore Drive treatment plant known as the Waterworks. The water treatment process begins with Lake Erie water getting gravity-fed to pumps that flow it to a chemical plant.

“We bring the lake right into here,” said Woodbury, standing next to the pumps.

Before hitting the chemical treatment plant, the water is run through carbon filter beds that get cleaned regularly and fully switched out every couple of years.

According to Woodbury, the big blue tank next to Memorial Park contains finished water that is solely used for washing the filters.

Kyle Schuster, chief treatment plant operator, said the filters are “the top defense for any of the new contaminants coming out.” However, as he pointed out, drinking water “has to be filtered but it also has to be disinfected.”

That involves chlorination, which kills bacteria — and zebra mussel larvae, as Woodbury noted. That’s important because when they hatch, they can easily clog up the whole system. In fact, he said, “We shoot a little bit of chlorine out there in the springtime” into the lake water intake pipe to kill any larvae at that end.

A brick wall at the rear of the facility holds two 500,000 gallon tanks with water ready for distribution after chemical treatment.

Computers monitor the water with a dizzying array of measurements. Monitors with their readings are scattered through not only the Waterworks but throughout the other water infrastructure sites.

There are human monitors, too. Lab director Emily Dillenburg is a key part of the process, ensuring compliance every day with state and federal water standards. She tests things such as chlorine and pH levels, turbidity and alkalinity.

“Automation helps, but automation doesn’t control the plant,” Woodbury said. He said there is always a human on site at the plant. He noted that some water plants — such as Fredonia’s — don’t have that, instead turning to “occasional automation.” Many other plants also don’t have full-time on-site lab techs like Dillenburg, he added.

Dunkirk’s entire system can produce 10 million gallons of water a day — it almost always needs to make only a fraction of that, perhaps 3 million gallons on a typical day. The water gets sent not only to the city, but nearby municipalities that are members of the North County Water District.

Once it’s ready to get distributed, finished water goes across Lake Shore Drive from the Waterworks to the city’s main pumping station.

It is basically a large room that contains four 250-horsepower pumps. Schuster said they normally only need to use one pump at a time.

There is an emergency generator on site that can power both the pumps and the Waterworks across the street if there is a power outage.

The water might get pumped directly to customers, or it might head to the 2-million-gallon storage tank on Willowbrook Avenue.

Woodbury said the purpose of such a tank is to get a large amount of water quickly if needed, with minimal loss.

Another piece is the Main Street Extension pumps. Woodbury said those were built in 1960 to assist water pressure at D&F Plaza.

Water can be pumped to Fredonia through that, using a booster station nearby on Vineyard Drive. However, Woodbury said that would not be sufficient to meet Fredonia’s needs, because it would cause too many problems in Dunkirk with capacity and pressure.

Woodbury and Mayor Wilfred Rosas want a new line, larger than the Main Street Extension one, to connect the Willowbrook Avenue holding tank with SUNY Fredonia.

In fact, the end of the tour involved Woodbury driving on SUNY Fredonia’s Ring Road and pointing out the easily visible Wiilowbrook Avenue tank. Virtually the only physical barrier in the way of a line from there is the Thruway. Woodbury downplayed that, saying recent advances in directional drilling should make it relatively easy to dig under the road.

Throughout the tour, the DPW director talked up his employees, calling them “water scientists” at one point. He also said Schuster “is very proud of the quality of his water.”