TU Geosciences Seminar Presents:

Introduction to Drinking Water Treatment and Overview of Tulsa’s Drinking Water Supply

Hua Jiang, Ph.D., P.E.

Senior Engineer

Water and Sewer, City of Tulsa

hjiang@cityoftulsa.org

Wednesday March 27, 2024 @12pm KEP 3005

No reservation necessary

Water is the foundation of civilization and societies. It is essential to our life and fuels the economy. We, as a human race, have come far from the hunter and gatherer age. We don’t typically scoop up the water from a stream to quench our thirst anymore. Ever wondering in modern industrialized countries, where and how do we normally get our potable water from? Is our tap water safe to drink? This talk will offer a brief overview of drinking water sources, treatment processes, and safeguards.

The City of Tulsa (City) is a regional water supplier and supplies drinking water to metropolitan Tulsa and surrounding communities. The City owns and operates two large drinking water treatment plants and produces up to 220 million gallons of water per day. The first plant, Mohawk Water Treatment Plant, was built in 1929 and treats the water from Lake Spavinaw which is about 60 miles away. The lake water is transported to the plant through man-made pipelines, under the gravity, for most of the year. The second plant, AB Jewell Water Treatment Plant was built in early 1970. It treats the water from Oologah Lake, which is about 30 miles away. The treated water from both plants is pumped to the City through a network of approximately 2000 miles of water mains.

Brief Bio:

Dr. Jiang is currently a Senior Engineer with the City of Tulsa’s Water and Sewer

Department. In his capacity, he provides technical support for Tulsa’s drinking water

treatment and supply. He has led some major initiatives and projects during his

tenure, such as chloramine conversion and taste & odor control. He obtained his

PhD degree in Civil Engineering from the University of Missouri – Rolla in 2006, and

earned MS and BS degrees from Nanjing University and Nanjing University of

Technology, in Nanjing, China, in 2001 and 1998, respectively. Before he joined the

City, he worked for an engineering consulting firm in Kansas City where he worked on some very interesting projects, such as the first advanced wastewater reuse plant in Australia and the world largest ozonation project for drinking water purification in Texas.