Did You

KNOW?

The cost of one bottle of water from a vending machine is equivalent to the cost of drinking 8 glasses of tap water every day for a year.
A gallon of water weighs 8.34 pounds.
The Water Authority maintains almost 1500 miles of drinking water pipes. If you put them end-to-end, they would stretch from Roanoke to Colorado Springs, CO.
At one drip per second, a faucet can leak 3,000 gallons of water per year.
Water is the only substance naturally found on earth as a solid, liquid and gas.
Over 713 gallons of water go into the production of one cotton T-shirt.
The Authority’s Water Pollution Control Plant is regarded as one of the best bird-watching areas in the mid-Atlantic region.
The Water Authority maintains over 6,000 fire hydrants in our service area. Fire hydrants are connected to the public drinking water distribution lines, so water from a fire hydrant is drinking water.
There are over 23,000 manholes in our service area.
Carvins Cove Natural Reserve is the second largest municipal park in the United States.
The Authority’s Water Pollution Control Plant covers over 100 acres of land.
More people in the world have a mobile phone than have a toilet.
The Water Authority treats 19-million gallons of drinking water a day although we have the capacity to treat 56-million gallons per day.
The Authority’s Water Pollution Control Plant treats almost 37-million gallons of wastewater a day from all across the Roanoke Valley.
There are 51 drinking water storage tanks in our service area. They each hold between 500,000 – 2-million gallons of water.
Most of the treated drinking water used in a home is for toilet flushing.

water drops

News

Boil Water Advisory - Limited Area
Boil Water Advisory for a limited number of customers on Denise Circle, Sourwood Street, and Wesvan Drive Roanoke

11/8/2025
40 Years After - Remembering the Flood of 1985
11/5/2025 3:17:00 PM
Dig with Care
Be safe. Call 811 before you dig.

8/29/2025 8:30:00 AM

Tours offered by the Authority

Font Size: + -

Feedback Print

Request a Treatment Plant Tour
Tours of our treatment plants are offered FREE of charge to education and community groups in the Water Authority's service area.
Sign Up

Tours Offered by the Water Authority

Carvins Cove Reservoir

Visit Roanoke’s largest drinking water source and our nation’s second largest municipal park. Treat your students to SOL-based, experiential lessons in the outdoors focused on watersheds, land management/human impacts, the water cycle, and more! Picnic facilities are available.

Self-led field trip options are encouraged for K-2 and non-science classes, such as art and physical education.

To learn more about Carvins Cove Reservoir, check out our R ecreation Page.

Carvins Cove Water Treatment Facility

Visit our valley's largest drinking water treatment facility! The tour will take you through the pre-treatment basins (outside) and the filter gallery (inside). You can expect to learn about conventional-style water treatment and the history of Carvins Cove.

This tour lasts approximately 45 minutes. Visits to the reservoir take an additional two hours.

Before you visit, download our Carvins Cove Tour Brochure and watch the video - Carvins Cove Water Treatment Facility

Crystal Spring Water Treatment Facility

Steam Pump Tour Located next to Roanoke Memorial Hospital, this tour offers a look at Roanoke's oldest water source. Tour groups will visit the historic steam pump building and learn about the history of Crystal Spring. Travel back in time and experience a demonstration of the 1905 Snow Steam Pump (yes, it still turns on!) Tour groups will then learn about the current filtration and disinfection process that takes place inside Crystal Spring Water Treatment Facility.

This tour typically lasts 1 hour.

Water Pollution Control Plant

RRWPCP Tour Learn about the fascinating process of wastewater treatment at the Roanoke Regional Water Pollution Control Plant. This 150-acre treatment plant uses physical, biological and chemical methods of removing pollution from our valley's wastewater.

Groups will walk through the treatment process and end their tour at the effluent, where crystal clean water is discharged into the Roanoke River. Wear good walking shoes and set aside at least 1.5 hours for the tour.

Before you visit, download our Treatment Plant Tour Brochure, learn about Wastewater Epidemiology and watch our video.