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About Our Water
Water Sources
Calera water is taken from four underground sources. These sources all draw from the Cahaba Valley District underground water table which is predominantly floored by limestone, dolomite, and shale. These wells have the capacity to provide in excess of six million gallons usable water per day.
Water Treatment
The Calera Central Water Treatment plant located on Shelby County Highway 22 is a modern state of the art micro filtration plant that filters water to 0.1 microns (small enough to remove bacteria).
Calera adds chlorine to the water at the end of the filter process. Chlorine eliminates any pathogenic organisms that may grow in the water after filtration as well as helping to maintain good taste and odor qualities to the drinking water. No other chemicals are added to Calera water.
Scale Build-Up from Drinking Water
The underground water table in and around the south Shelby County area is predominantly made of limestone. Limestone is largely made of calcium carbonate. When limestone dissolves in water, it releases calcium which cannot be filtered. This calcium is the scale that builds up in your water heaters and plumbing fixtures.
Hard Water
Hard water is a term historically linked to soap lather. Our water, which has a high level of lime(calcium carbonate) is considered hard. This means that it is hard to form a soap lather. When the calcium in our water reacts with the fatty acids in normal soap, the calcium restricts the amount of soap foam generated and forms a soap scum that many of you have to clean from your tubs and showers.
2023 Annual Water Quality Report (PDF)
2022 Annual Water Quality Report (PDF)
2021 Annual Water Quality Report (PDF)
2020 Annual Water Quality Report (PDF)
2019 Annual Water Quality Report (PDF)
2018 Annual Water Quality Report (PDF)
2017 Annual Water Quality Report (PDF)