As promised here is the second part on BWD and their new facilities. Most of the articles for this series is going to consist of pictures so you all can see what I'm talking about. I have more pictures than facts. Being a simple layman I found myself many times feeling I was in over my head with all the details they were giving me. So bear with me. I'll try to keep it in layman's language.
I introduced the series showing you the outside of the pump station and the ville's version of the Lock Ness monster. Except for the back-up generator I'll show a few shots of what I saw inside.
One of the things that impressed me is the forethought put into the plans when they built the new facilities. When it came out that the district was applying for grants in preparation for Baard's ORCF plant I thought they would be building a new pump station somewhere around the Port facilities. Wrong. The pump station is nearly ready to supply Baard with all the water they need. Right now they are saying Baard is going to need 21,000,000 gallons of raw water daily and another 4,000,000 of treated water once they get started. That's a pretty staggering amount of water. I thought for that amount they would need another pump station.
District Manager Al DeAngelis told me that all they need to do to get ready to supply the ORCF plant is to run supply lines from the pump station and the treatment plant to the new plant's site. Other than that the BWD is ready for Baard.
The pump station is supplied by two 24" diameter lines that are 17 feet deep under the river. There are three pumps capable of pumping 3,100 gallons of water per minute. The water is fed into a 36" diameter line that goes nearly five miles to the new reservoir. That's nearly 4.5 million gallons of water per day they are capable of pumping. If that is not enough they are ready to set up a fourth pump.
Mark Allison explained to me that they only run the pumps at night due to the cost of electricity. Like our cell phone plans the electric company has off-peak hours. It costs $2.61 per kilowatt hour to run the pumps during off-peak hours versus $12.62/kwh during peak times. Even taking advantage of the less expensive rates the average monthly bill still averages $8,300. Before going on-line with the new station the bill was $14,000 for the testing phase. My average household bill would take me nearly 83 years to match what it costs them per month.
The green thing pictured above is the back-up generator for the pump station. It kicks in automatically if AEP fails to supply the juice. Then there is a section of 36" line that runs from the pump station up the hill to give you an idea of the size. Most households use a half inch line to supply their water. This particular piece of pipe has a hole in it that had to be cut out and replaced.
Then there is a picture of the intake lines and pumps that are nearly three stories down. The picture isn't the best. It was taken from ground level after I eyeballed all those steps to get down there. Remember the intake lines are 17' below the river surface.
The yellow thing is an over-head crane that enables them to get parts and equipment in and out of that hole.
The intake lines are periodically cleaned out with potassium that keep river snails and other aquatic creatures out of them.
Other than a few control panels and tanks for chemicals that is about it for the pump station. You can click on any of the pictures to enlarge for a better view. Next up is the treatment plant.
ole nib
I introduced the series showing you the outside of the pump station and the ville's version of the Lock Ness monster. Except for the back-up generator I'll show a few shots of what I saw inside.
One of the things that impressed me is the forethought put into the plans when they built the new facilities. When it came out that the district was applying for grants in preparation for Baard's ORCF plant I thought they would be building a new pump station somewhere around the Port facilities. Wrong. The pump station is nearly ready to supply Baard with all the water they need. Right now they are saying Baard is going to need 21,000,000 gallons of raw water daily and another 4,000,000 of treated water once they get started. That's a pretty staggering amount of water. I thought for that amount they would need another pump station.
District Manager Al DeAngelis told me that all they need to do to get ready to supply the ORCF plant is to run supply lines from the pump station and the treatment plant to the new plant's site. Other than that the BWD is ready for Baard.
The pump station is supplied by two 24" diameter lines that are 17 feet deep under the river. There are three pumps capable of pumping 3,100 gallons of water per minute. The water is fed into a 36" diameter line that goes nearly five miles to the new reservoir. That's nearly 4.5 million gallons of water per day they are capable of pumping. If that is not enough they are ready to set up a fourth pump.
Mark Allison explained to me that they only run the pumps at night due to the cost of electricity. Like our cell phone plans the electric company has off-peak hours. It costs $2.61 per kilowatt hour to run the pumps during off-peak hours versus $12.62/kwh during peak times. Even taking advantage of the less expensive rates the average monthly bill still averages $8,300. Before going on-line with the new station the bill was $14,000 for the testing phase. My average household bill would take me nearly 83 years to match what it costs them per month.
The green thing pictured above is the back-up generator for the pump station. It kicks in automatically if AEP fails to supply the juice. Then there is a section of 36" line that runs from the pump station up the hill to give you an idea of the size. Most households use a half inch line to supply their water. This particular piece of pipe has a hole in it that had to be cut out and replaced.
Then there is a picture of the intake lines and pumps that are nearly three stories down. The picture isn't the best. It was taken from ground level after I eyeballed all those steps to get down there. Remember the intake lines are 17' below the river surface.
The yellow thing is an over-head crane that enables them to get parts and equipment in and out of that hole.
The intake lines are periodically cleaned out with potassium that keep river snails and other aquatic creatures out of them.
Other than a few control panels and tanks for chemicals that is about it for the pump station. You can click on any of the pictures to enlarge for a better view. Next up is the treatment plant.
ole nib
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