Monday, October 16, 2000
The city of Antioch, California did not have a water stagnation
problem, but the city's water plant superintendent Jon Billeci wanted to improve
its water supply for years to come.
The water reservoir tank had a single protrusion that acted as a
common inlet and outlet for water. While this design adequately supplied the
required hydraulics of the city's water distribution system, water outside the
inlet/outlet area would eventually become stagnant and develop bacteria if left
Billeci rehabilitated his community's water supply by selecting
Tideflex check valves from The Red Valve Co. (Pittsburgh, PA) for use in the
water storage reservoir. When installed in the tank, the valve improves overall
circulation and eliminates stagnation.
The water distribution system uses two sets of Tideflex valves and
a simple piping manifold. The first set of valves discharges during filling. The
second set discharges during draining. Both sets are positioned on the manifold,
thereby maximizing the distance between the inlet and outlet, eliminating
short-circuiting and improving water circulation. The valves were installed
using the single protrusion that already existed, so Billeci avoided costly
excavation of the tank required with other types of valve retrofits.
"I was a little skeptical at first," says Billeci. However, he now
believes that installing the check valves was a good idea. "They solved the
problem associated with a common inlet/outlet without having to do any
excavation," he says.
The valves' applications also include reservoirs, standpipes, and
tanks of all shapes and capacities. They never freeze or stick open due to
entrapped debris. For more information, contact the Red Valve Co., 700 N. Bell
Ave., Carnegie, PA 15106, call (412) 279-0044, or visit www.redvalve.com/brochure/Tideflex.