Environmental Technology Unit 4 Case Study
This paper will focus on drinking water distribution system in Clinton City, Utah. Clinton is a lively Utah Community containing a total of 21000 residents who experience high quality of life in a family oriented, safe rural atmosphere. Clinton city is situated just southwest of Ogden and North of Salt Lake City; nestled between the Great Salt Lake and Wasatch Mountains. The city drinking water system is maintained and operated by the Clinton City Water Department. The city water system on average delivers 1.5 million gallons of water daily to the city resident, which amount to a total of 554 million gallons every year for drinking water only; does not include secondary water system which cater for irrigation (Clinton City, 2018a).
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The city main source of drinking water is from Weber Basin where the city purchases the highest percentage of drinking water from Weber Basin Water Conservancy District. The water is the distributed through a system that is operated and owned by Clinton City. To supplement the purchased water, Clinton city water department also created and operates a deep water well which is 1100 feet deep and generated more than 1200 gallons of crystal clear water per minute. The two sources of water are used to ensure the city has enough drinking water (Clinton City, 2018b).
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The city drinking water system contains over 80 miles of piping, 834 Fire Hydrants, 1100 control valves and storage tanks with a capacity 6 million gallons in total. The piping system is meant to ensure that the water is able to flow from Weber Basin to the city. The city’s water department uses metallic pipes; ductile-iron pipe to draw water from Weber basin and to distribute it to the residents. However, PVC pipes have highly been used in the distribution system in the city (City of Clinton, 2017). The pipes drawing water from Weber basin contain a larger diameter compared to the pipes distributing water to the residents. This is done to ensure control on water pressure. The pressure of the water is highly determined by the depth of the pipe on the ground and the diameter of the branching pipe. The pipes diameter range from 3-inch to 64-inch based on the position of the pipe in the system and the number of people it intends to supply with water. The recommended standard diameter for distribution pipe is 8-inch though 6-inch pipes can be used in different occasions (Clinton Utilities, 2009).
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Clinton Water Department ensures that Clinton residents get well treated clean water to drink. To guarantee high water quality, the water is tested very frequently by the department where by a total of 27 samples are taken every month to test for the presence of any harmful bacteria. Many other samples are drawn to assess other water contaminants needed by the Clean Water Act to ensure that the water provided to the residents is clean. In addition to this, the department uses chlorine to kill viruses and bacteria which would be found in the water. The department considers chlorine as the best disinfectant since it has a history of 100 years of efficiency in ending epidemics of diseases recorded before its application. Other than chlorine, the department also adds fluoride into the water supply after realizing that the city water source does not contain enough fluoride to offer oral health benefits. Thus fluoride is added in water supply to ensure it is in suitable level which assists in preventing tooth decay. The average level of fluoride in the city is about 1.0 part in every million which is similar to a single drop in every 3.2 water gallons. It is also similar to one inch in every 16 miles (Clinton City, 2018a).
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The special attributes which make Clinton city proud is that their tap water is clean and preferable for drinking compared to bottled water. This safe people cost in purchasing bottled water which is considerably expensive compared to tap water. Having high quality tap water ensures good health to all including low income families that cannot afford to purchase bottled water. The city water department has ensured that the drinking water provided in homes taps is of high quality and has adhered to Federal drinking water quality standards. The water is regularly tested and treated with chlorine to eliminate pathogens. The water is also supplemented with fluoride to improve its benefits and quality. In addition Clinton city drinking water is hard water containing a good percentage of magnesium and calcium elements which play a great role in enhancing human health (Clinton City, 2018a). Although the hardness may impact the water usage in washing, the hardness is highly beneficial to the human body. In addition to this, the city water department employs great effort to ensure that the drinking water distribution system up to the meter point is working effectively and hence it fixes leakages, blockage or any other piping issues for the resident up to the meter point where the residential owner is left responsible for the repair and maintenance of the part after the meter.
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