Construction of the Livingston system solved both. The Trinity River Authority's Livingston Regional Water Supply System began supplying treated water to Livingston in July 1981. In 1991, as a part of its construction of the Terrell prison unit in Polk County, the Texas Department of Criminal Justice contracted with the City of Livingston for the delivery of drinking water to the facility. The water treatment plant is now capable of treating 3.0 million gallons of water a day. Raw water for this project is supplied by the Authority from nearby 90,000 surface acre Lake Livingston.
Transmission lines convey raw water to the plant for treatment.
After treatment, the water is stored in the clearwell and pumped to the city and the prison unit via separated high service pumps and transmission lines. In Quality Water Raw water from Lake Livingston is pumped to the plant through one mile of 12-inch pipeline. The treatment process involves the use of chemical addition to supplement mechanical procedures resulting in clear, clean, safe drinking water. The sediment is stored in retention ponds for disposal. Throughout the process, the various chemicals are added to achieve clarification, water stability and disinfection resulting in water of the highest quality which meets or exceeds the standards set by the Texas Natural Resource Conservation Commission and the Environmental Protection Agency.