Agua Viva Water Plant Work Taking Place This Week
Date:
11/17/2008Summary:
Improvements continue on the City of Yuma’s Agua Viva Water Treatment Plant, and work will take place this week that may temporarily impact flows and pressure in the eastern city limits.Contact:
Yuma, Arizona — Improvements continue on the City of Yuma’s Agua Viva Water Treatment Plant, and work will take place this week that may temporarily impact flows and pressure in the eastern city limits.
Work will take place Tuesday, November 18th through Thursday, November 20th at the plant, located on Avenue 9E north of 28th Street. Three individual projects will take place.
On Tuesday, the City will change the Pureflow system, a resin process used to remove iron and manganese from well water, from its current 500,000-gallon tank to the new 2.5 million-gallon water storage tanks.
On Wednesday, plant operators will commission a surge tank, and will test it by simulating a “water hammer,” which is a change of velocity of water in pipes. Homeowners may recognize a water hammer as the loud thumping sound in water pipes when a tap is turned on in certain conditions. “When you’re talking a 1-inch or less pipe, that’s kind of a mild water hammer. But in an 18- or 24-inch pipe, that’s something that can really rip a pipe out of the ground,” said Kathy Carroll, Water Treatment Manager for the City of Yuma.
The surge tank protects against large water hammers and is being put in place for when the plant expands to use surface water in the coming months. The City will test the tank by running a high service booster pump at full speed for 5 minutes, then turning the pump off to simulate a power outage. The procedure will then repeat with two pumps online.
On Thursday, electricity will be shut down at the plant for approximately six hours beginning around 8 a.m., after peak morning demand, so crews can change out some electrical components. This is being done to accommodate the upcoming use of surface water at the plant. “If at any time the plant experiences the need to be put back on line, the electrical gear will be re-energized,” Carroll said.
These projects are being done in addition to previously announced work on a 30-inch water transmission line in the eastern part of the city limits, which has been rescheduled to 8 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. on Tuesday.
Residents and businesses who may have questions, or who may experience a change in water system performance outside of this time frame that constitutes an emergency, may call 373-4500 to report the problem.
