Water
manager pleased with wireless system
2006
budget could see expansion
By Richard D. L. Fulton
News Editor
THURMONT,
Md. – A wireless control system installed two months ago
to improve “synchronization” of portions of the
town’s water supply is functioning “problem-free,”
according to Gary Dingle, town water superintendent.
The wireless
communication system replaced problematic phone lines in the
effort to create a communication system less likely to fail.
Remote
communication, whether by phone line or wireless network,
allows the water treatment plant to send electronic signals
to several production wells to tell them when more water is
needed.
Previously,
the town water system relied on phone line signals sent to
the various tanks and wells. Most of the time the Verizon
phone system worked, but there were problems, which spurred
the water manager to explore other communications options.
Dingle
previously told The Dispatch, “When telephone
lines don’t work, you have to come in and control the
system by hand. It happens a few times a year and it’s
a real pain when it does.”
Production
wells #3, #4, and #9 have now been tied into the new wireless
system. Dingle said in a Nov. 14 interview, “It’s
working good and we have had no problems. The system is working
smoothly.”
He said
if the new system continues to perform as well as it has been,
he might consider asking the town council to consider budgeting
for wells #7 and #8 to be tied into the wireless network in
the coming year.
Wells
#7 and #8 presently communicate electronically over phone
lines tied to their water storage tanks. “They kick
on when the water in the tanks drop,” Dingle said.
A sixth
well, #2, is not routinely used because of its limited draw,
and likely would not be tied in. It presently runs off a pre-set
timer and only produces when the clock is set manually.
(See
“Town
water to be controlled with wireless communications”
in the Aug. 18 issue of The Thurmont Dispatch.)
Thurmont
wells produce more than enough water for town
Total,
per minute, well production capabilities: 1,800 GPM
(gallons per minute). Average daily water consumption:
750,000-800,000 gallons per day. Total 24-hour well
production if maxed out* (all wells running for 24 hours):
2,592,000 gallons. All figures are approximate and can
be impacted by amount of rainfall and other environmental
and man-made factors. Wells using the wireless system
appear in bold type.
- Well #1: Non-operational
- Well #2: Established early 1900s. Capable of producing
about 40 GPM. Used for backup
- Well #3: Established late 1960s. Yield - 240
GPM
- Well #4: Established late 1960s. Yield - 350 GPM
- Well #5: Non-operational
- Well #6: Non-operational
- Well #7: Established 1988. Yield - 150 GPM
- Well #8: Established in the 1990s. Yield - 160 GPM
- Well #9: Newly established. Can produce 860
GPM
*"Maxing out" is a hypothetical number, since
continuous draw-down would cause overall production
to drop incrementally in the process.
|
»
Back
to Front Page
|
