Project Profiles: Valve Management
Wachs Water Services has seen an average initial water main valve operability of only 60% in more than 500,000 inspections nationwide - and that number is growing daily.
Wachs Water Services has seen an average initial water main valve operability of only 60% in more than 500,000 inspections nationwide - and that number is growing daily.
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Houston Valve Management Case Study Houston's Drinking Water Operations branch of the city's Public Works and Engineering department can trace its origin back to 1836 newspaper advertisements describing the "abundance of excellent spring water" available to settlers at the tiny town of Houston in the newly-created Republic of Texas. Starting with four miles of water pipelines fed by artesian wells in the 1870s, Houston today has the fifth largest water distribution system in the United States, serving 2.8 million people in a four-county area covering 600 square miles. |
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Baltimore Valve Management Case Study The Baltimore City Department of Public Works in Maryland got its start back in 1787 with a local law requiring each household to have two leather buckets available to help fight fires. Early town commissioners were also empowered to sink wells and erect pumps on private property for firefighting at the request and expense of local landowners. Today, the Baltimore City Department of Public Works provides 265 million gallons of water daily to 1.8 million people in the greater Baltimore region, and maintains 3,400 miles of water mains, 19,000 fire hydrants, and more than 64,000 pipeline valves. |
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| When a contractor recently had a corporation valve fail on a 48 inch water main at a reservoir pumping station, Wachs Water Services was called to perform an emergency shut down as water pressure and flow were too extreme for the contractor to remedy the situation. Within 2 hrs, Wachs Water Services crews executed the shutdown using a 36 inch valve and three 16 inch valves, the contractor completed the repair and Wachs crews safely recharged the line. Valve operability and accurate asset information enabled the crews to respond quickly and avoided water service disruption to approximately 100,000 people. |  |
| During a recent project in Michigan, Wachs Water Service experts located 20 valves that were not listed on the utilities blueprints, helping the utility to gain an accurate picture of the location and status of the control points in their water distribution system. The initial phase of program helped to restore valve operability in the water network to 84%, which is great compared to the 60% average operability which Wachs Water Services has seen nationwide. |  |
| In the Northeast, utility workers speculated that an underground water valve leak may have caused slick road conditions which resulted in a car accident. Wachs Water Services crews were quickly dispatched by the utility and repaired the valve. The valve leak occurred on a pipeline which suffered a main break just a few weeks earlier. With the addition of the Investigator™ and LDS1000™ in-line pipeline condition assessment technologies, Wachs Water Services crews now have the ability to inspect in-service pipelines in conjunction with valve locating and repair projects. |  |
| The City of Atlanta turned to Wachs Water Services when they required accurate and precise information about their aging water distribution system assets. Working in step with the utility, Wachs Water Services experts were able to complete a system-wide asset location, operability and mapping program in just 3 years. Each step of the program generated valuable information which immediately helped to improve system control and efficiency. To date, operability of key assets has been improved to 90%. |  |
Wachs Water Services is the leading provider of water distribution system asset management solutions that significantly improve efficiency and network control. Our specialized approach combines condition assessment and rehabilitation services for valves, hydrants and water mains with the capture and integration of critical water asset GIS information. We provide the expertise, equipment and personnel to locate, assess, operate and document virtually any water asset.
