Product category:
Hydrometry, Environment and Floods
News Release from: ITT Fluid Technology | Subject: Jordan Valley valves
Edited by the Processingtalk Editorial
Team on 27 June 2007
Aqueduct valves help cleaning and
maintenance
Three large-scale knife-gate valves from ITT were installed in a major aqueduct to allow the cleaning device to pass through, as well as reliably hold back the water during manual inspections
In the Utah Jordan Valley Water Conservancy District (JVWCD), 72inch aqueducts supply raw water from the Uinta Mountain Range to a 180-million-gallon-per-day water treatment plant serving customers and communities throughout a large part of the greater Salt Lake Valley The Uinta Mountains are a particularly valuable natural resource, lying to the east of Salt Lake City
This article was originally published on Processingtalk on 26 Jun 2007 at 8.00am (UK)
Related stories
PumpSmart control systems improve fuel blending
Motiva Enterprises has installed PumpSmart control systems from ITT Goulds to maintain constant pressure on the ethanol header and injection system, for Shell Oil Gasoline fuel blending
Predictive condition monitoring on corn pumps
When the largest corn processor in Canada wanted predictive monitoring on pumps, they turned to ITT Industries for PROsmart, the latest technology for maintaining uptime on rotating equipment
The Central Utah Project was constructed to convey water from these mountains to a growing population along the Wasatch front.
The aqueduct is a vital component of this project, helping supply high-quality water to more than 950,000 people who live and work in Salt Lake County.
The JVWCD is primarily a wholesaler of water to cities and improvement districts within Salt Lake County.
Further reading
ABB helps China water quality improvements
Water quality monitoring equipment manufactured at ABB Stonehouse is being used to help meet the ambitious Chinese plans for improving the quality of its rivers and water supply networks
Turbidity monitors keep Thames Water in the clear
Turbidity monitoring equipment from ABB is helping Thames Water maintain the highest water purity standards at its new borehole extraction site.
Manage multiple projects with Mathcad
With a 100-year history, customers depend on Johnson Screens to create effective and cost-conscious solutions to problems across a range of industries, including water intake, treatment and monitoring
It also has a retail service area in unincorporated areas of the county.
Jordan Valley is now the largest municipal water district in Utah, with 90% of its municipal water delivered on a wholesale basis to cities and water districts and 10% on a retail basis to unincorporated areas of Salt Lake County.
As the demand for more water continues to increase in the Salt Lake metropolitan area, keeping the aqueducts clean and capable of delivering maximum flows is a prudent investment - which brings us back to the reason for the inspection tour of the aqueduct.
The inspection tour is precursor to an upcoming cleaning of the entire inside of the 17-mile long aqueduct.
As the aqueduct delivers raw water from the mountains, grit, sediment and even moss will coat the inside of the pipe, reducing its flow characteristics.
According to Alan Packard, PE, the Engineering Department manager for the JVWCD, as well as manager of the cleaning project, the intended capacity of the aqueduct was 270 cubic feet per second.
Build-up of the deposits on the pipe, however, have reduced that flow to 240 cfs.
While that may not sound like much, it actually amounts to a loss of almost 20 million gallons per day in flow capacity.
During the first weeks of December, the JVWCD will initiate a cleaning process called "pigging" to scour the interior of the pipe and remove the layer of sediment.
This will be accomplished by running a cylindrical foam device covered with bristle-imbedded urethane through the pipe.
The device is called a "pig." The pressure of the water flow behind the pig forces it through the aqueduct.
How the "pig" got its name isn't exactly clear.
A spokesperson at the Pigging Products and Services Association (PPSA) noted that when these devices were first used in Texas around 1870, they were made of bundles of leather.
When they came out of the ends of the pipes they were cleaning, they squealed, just like the real thing - and an industry was born.
Originally developed to remove deposits that could obstruct or retard flow through a pipeline, pigs are now used for many different reasons, and in all phases of the life of a pipeline.
The JVWCD recently used the pigging process to clean a 12-mile section of another 78inch diameter aqueduct with great success.
Test results after the operation showed that the aqueduct flow capacity increased 22.5 percent from 129 million gallons per day to 158 - an increase of 29 million gallons per day (exceeding the estimated 20 million gallons per day expected).
Similar results are expected after the December cleaning of the 17-mile section of aqueduct.
When the aqueduct was originally constructed, 72inch butterfly valves were installed throughout its length.
Because the pigging device takes up the entire area of the pipe, the pig would not be able to pass by the butterfly valves.
In the summer of 2003, all three butterfly valves were replaced by 72inch Fabri-Valve bonneted knife-gate valves from the ITT Engineered Valves Group.
The gate of the valves fully retracts and provides an unrestricted full flow port, which allows the pig to pass through.
But, what's good for the pig also seems to be pretty good for the people who work with the Jordan Valley Water Conservancy District - especially those who take part in those inspection tours inside the pipe.
As Alan Packard points out, "We expect that after the pigging operation is complete, we will walk and inspect it to see how well the cleaning has been done.
If needed, we can then do an additional pass with the pig".
Imagine walking on an inspection tour of a six-foot diameter, dark aqueduct pipe, where the only thing between you and a flood of 160 PSI water is a closed valve.
By the way, the nearest exit is a mile away.
Reliably holding back that flood of water are the 72inch Fabri-Valve knife-gate valves from ITT Engineered Valves Group.
While the knife-gate valves are seldom operated - being held mostly in the "open" position - they're still on constant duty.
They need to work perfectly.
ITT offers bonneted Fabri-Valve knife-gate valves for difficult applications, including buried service requiring gate protection, and high-cycle stem sealing.
The cylindrical packing around the stem provides a tight, easy-to-maintain seal.
The 72inch valves used in Jordan Valley Water Conservancy District aqueduct project incorporate the following features:.
* 304 stainless steel wetted components and carbon steel exteriors.
* bonnets to protect the gate and a dirt shields to protect the actuation.
* dual, replaceable neoprene seats.
* special seat protectors to shield the soft neoprene seats from the abrasive bristles of the pig.
* electric actuators.
In addition to this type of raw water service, these knifegate valves can be used for handling process fluids in pulp and paper, chemical, petroleum, refining, mining, wastewater, power and marine applications.
The Engineered Valves Group is unit of ITT Engineered Process Solutions Group (EPSG).
EPSG is a leader in valve technology, innovation and design, meeting the critical needs of its customers on a worldwide basis.
EPSG delivers valve solutions for a full range of industrial flow control needs including chemical processing, power generation, pulp and paper, water treatment, pollution control and pharmaceutical and bioprocessing.
• ITT Fluid Technology: contact details and other news
• Email this article to a colleague
• Register for the free Processingtalk email newsletter
• Processingtalk Home Page
Search the Pro-Talk network of sites
