New Ways for Even More Efficiency
In last year’s IFCD 3 Newsletter, we announced the District would be conducting a study of water drainage throughout our Valley Ranch service area. Part of the focus of this engineering-driven research was to determine any opportunities for new water handling practices.
From the study, it was determined that an additional means of diverting water from the IFCD 3 system of canals, waterways and other structures into the Elm Fork of the Trinity River is worthy of examination.
Currently, there are two ways of controlling water levels in Valley Ranch when storms come. With light precipitation comes the opportunity to open the sluice gates adjacent to the pump house, allowing water to flow from our system into the Trinity using gravity. However, when storms produce higher amounts of rain, snow or ice, or when the water level of the Elm Fork already is significantly higher than its usual level, one or more of the District’s six electric pumps are used to transfer water. The number of pumps used is determined by factors such as how rapidly and for how long rain has been falling.
Like any electric-powered equipment, the more devices used and the longer they’re used, the higher the electric bill at the end of the month. That’s true for our pumps. That’s why it’s important to find a middle-ground solution when our needs are greater than can be handled by the sluice gates and less than our powerful pump capabilities.
Enter the tilting weir. A tilting weir, or dam, can add capacity to releases made through the sluice gates. Currently, the fixed concrete weir at our pump station discharges any water higher than a system water level of 418 feet above mean sea level (msl) as long as the Elm Fork water level is at or below 418 msl. At those times, the tilting weir can release as much as 79,000 gallons of water per minute beyond what currently can exit the system without pumps. At maximum performance, this would save the use of two of our pumps. Using this method should reduce pumping before and after storms, reducing costs.
Comparing ways of moving water out of our system to lawn equipment, the sluice gates might be similar to a push mower, the tilting weir moving up to a riding lawn mower and the electric pumps serving as a fleet of large tractors!
Our operations team is working with engineering and accounting pros to use data from the water drainage study to determine the impact of a tilting weir on system capacity and electrical consumption when utilized.
Maintaining the efficiencies and effectiveness you expect from IFCD 3 means always being on the lookout for even better, proven ways of delivering flood control. Watch for more news on the tilting weir as the assessment stage is completed.