The output from the water treatment plant is clear, germ-free water. The water is treated in a water treatment plant to remove sediment (by filtration and/or settling) and bacteria (typically with ozone, ultraviolet light and chlorine). In most towns, the water people drink comes from either a well, a river or a reservoir (normally a local lake). At night, when demand normally falls to practically zero, the pump can make up the difference and refill the water tower. Because of the water tower, the municipality can purchase a 500-gallon-per-minute pump and let the water tower handle the peak demand. there is a big cost difference between a 500-gallon-per-minute pump and a 2,000-gallon-per-minute pump. Water demand might peak at 2,000 gallons per minute at 7 a.m. They go to the bathroom, take a shower, brush their teeth, etc. For example, in the morning, lots of people wake up at about the same time (say 7:00 a.m.) to go to work. There will be times during the day when water consumption is much greater than 500 gallons per minute. Say that the water consumption for a pumping station averages 500 gallons of water per minute (or 720,000 gallons over the course of a day). That can save a community a lot of money. One of the big advantages of a water tower is that it lets a municipality size its pumps for average rather than peak demand. If the pumps fail (for example, during a power failure), the water tower holds enough water to keep things flowing for about a day. A normal in-ground swimming pool in someone's backyard might hold something like 20,000 or 30,000 gallons (that's a lot of water!), and a typical water tower might hold 50 times that amount! Typically, a water tower's tank is sized to hold about a day's worth of water for the community served by the tower. In hilly regions, a tower can sometimes be replaced by a simple tank located on the highest hill in the area.Ī water tower's tank is normally quite large. So water towers are typically located on high ground, and they are tall enough to provide the necessary pressure. The water tower must be tall enough to supply that level of pressure to all of the houses and businesses in the area of the tower. A typical municipal water supply runs at between 50 and 100 PSI (major appliances require at least 20 to 30 PSI). Each foot of height provides 0.43 PSI (pounds per square Inch) of pressure. Water towers are tall to provide pressure. This tower is located in Kill Devils Hill, near Kitty Hawk, NC. For example, take the water tower shown at the right. Although water towers come in all shapes and sizes, they all do the same thing: A water tower is simply a large, elevated tank of water. Tower, Tank and PumpĪ water tower is an incredibly simple device. The next time you drive by a water tower, you will know exactly what it is doing. In this article, we will look at how water towers work. Each water system has one or more towers. You see water towers everywhere, especially if you live in a flat area full of small towns. Also, if the power goes out and the city’s water pumps fail, the water tower can keep water running smoothly for at least 24 hours.A big reason for that level of reliability is the water tower. When water demand goes down at night, the pump can replace the water in the tower. Instead, municipalities can buy a pump just large enough to satisfy the region’s average water demand for the day, and let the power of the water tower take over during the times with demand that exceeds the pump’s capabilities. Without a water tower, the municipality would have to buy a water pump big and powerful enough to keep up with peak demand in the mornings, which would then largely go to waste during less busy parts of the day for water usage (plus incur extra costs). Lots of folks are taking showers before work and school, but fewer people are running a lot of water at 3 a.m. In general, water demand for a city fluctuates throughout the day. It allows regions to use smaller water pumps. Keeping water high off the ground plays another important role for a city infrastructure. Jonathan Cretton, Wikimedia Commons // Public Domain
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Details
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |