PHOTOS: Behind the Scenes At the Oak Creek Water Treatment Plant

Not that this is exactly surprising, but I'm here to tell you that quite a bit goes on before water goes through your faucet.

I was recently invited on a tour, led by utility engineer Mike Sullivan, of the t at 9325 S. 5th Ave. and found out everything that goes into the process.

It all starts at a small facility along the Lake Michigan shoreline that takes raw water from the lake and gets it over to the treatment plant on 5th Avenue.

I couldn't take photos there because of security reasons. That seemed weird at the time, but when you think about it, it makes sense. After 9/11, water facilities like this one were seen as potential targets since it's kind of a necessary item for human life. New security measures, then, were put in place at utilties all over the country. So, the photo gallery above is from the facility on 5th Avenue.

There's so much that goes into water treatment that it would be hard for a layman, like myself, to describe it in this space. But here are some bigger-picture takeaways that I had after spending about two hours there.

Every kind of system has a backup. And all of those backups have backups. Seriously, there are so many safeguards in place that it would take one hell of a catastrophe to disrupt water flow to residents. And even that might not stop it.

The utility isn't just thinking about how to get water to residents in 2011. It's thinks way beyond that. It's looking 30, 40, 50 years down the road, which was shown about $10 million worth of savings for rate-payers. Since the beginning, the utility has been mindful of leaving space for future expansion and it's paid off, as its completed several expansions over the years and has room for several more.

Lastly, Oak Creek water utility employees take tremendous pride in their work. It's on display wherever you look, from plaques and awards on the wall to the enthusiasm from the workers themselves. The water utility is one of those things where you only notice it if something goes wrong. In many ways, it's better to stay out of the spotlight. But every now and again, it's important to point out things that are working and working well, and the Oak Creek water utility certainly seems to fall into that category.