ENID, Okla. — After making a fast journey again to his pickup, David Hunter hoisted the cast-steel choose finish of a 2-foot-long sledgehammer to pop off the steel lid of a rusted manhole exterior town’s water booster station off Imo Highway.
Sitting subsequent to a ladder about 12 ft into the bottom was a 30-inch-wide transmission line, busy shifting 1000’s of gallons of uncooked water a day from close by Ames to Enid.
“Makes you’re feeling such as you’re Thor or one thing,” he stated earlier than closing the lid again on, prompting town’s water foreman, Jay Graves, to remind him he’s not speculated to do the bodily labor.
“Oh, that’s proper, I’m not speculated to do stuff. Largely as a result of I break issues,” Hunter stated, laughing once more.
The 30-inch transmission line coming from Ames is proven on this 12-foot-deep manhole on the metropolis of Enid’s booster station on Imo Highway. (Alexander Ewald / Enid Information & Eagle)
This particular transmission line had a major break in late-2020, not lengthy after town of Enid’s public utilities director began his job.
Such transmission traces from town’s properly fields in Ames and Drummond to the southwest go by the booster station, which sits at a fork within the waterlines going to both of town’s two water remedy vegetation.
The station, reactivated in 2006 after a 30-year dormancy, acts as an enormous railroad swap for town’s water provide, diverting water from one plant to a different as wanted.
However its 4 pumps are hardly ever used right now, the 2 males defined. If one thing goes fallacious on the booster station, then that creates a possible legal responsibility for town’s water provide, Hunter stated.
A brand new water plant being constructed for the Kaw Lake pipeline will change how water is pumped to town, he defined, so the booster station would most likely go out of date.
“My reminiscence fails me to what’s gonna occur when it’s all stated and completed,” he stated in regards to the station. “I don’t suppose we’ll have the necessity for this, is the reply, however I’m not completely certain.”
Public Utilities Director David Hunter stands within the basement of town of Enid’s booster station on Imo Highway on Dec. 30, 2021. (Alexander Ewald / Enid Information & Eagle)
Much less of a balancing act
As soon as the swap is flipped on Enid’s huge Kaw Lake water provide program, probably taking the Imo booster station offline wouldn’t be the one main change to town’s so-called “invisible infrastructure.”
Together with supplying Enid with a constant supply of potable water, the mission, which just lately started development, can be anticipated to alleviate town utilities employees’s burden of regularly balancing and sustaining town’s water sources positioned all through Northwest Oklahoma.
Town’s third water remedy plant, already being built on West Chestnut next door to one of many metropolis’s different facilities, would obtain practically twice as a lot water as its sibling vegetation already do — greater than doubling Enid’s every day common water provide.
This plant, which would want its personal staffing, would particularly deal with the typical 10.5 million gallons of water anticipated to return daily from Kaw Lake 70 miles away.
Enid’s most important remedy plant, additionally positioned off West Chestnut, processes a mean 5 million gallons of water a day; a fifth as a lot water is handled on the secondary remedy plant.
Building started on the plant final fall, whereas town has but to start constructing the precise pipeline connecting it to the lake.
Hunter stated Enid’s definition of uncooked water would change virtually in a single day when the mission is completed within the subsequent a number of years.
Town at the moment makes use of solely water from the bottom. Kaw’s floor water, although, necessitated constructing a wholly new remedy plant, as floor water is regulated otherwise under the EPA’s Safe Drinking Water Act.
Not like Enid’s present groundwater sources, floor water algae, micro organism and different wildlife are discovered within the reservoir water. Rain and storms can also churn up a lake’s dust and sediment, which may change the water high quality and require extra remedy, Hunter stated.
Enid’s wells are comparatively shallow in contrast with the remainder of the nation, however climate forecasts don’t have an effect on them as rapidly as a floor water supply, he stated.
Water pump management panels are proven on the metropolis of Enid’s secondary water remedy plant on West Chesnut on Dec. 30, 2021. (Alexander Ewald / Enid Information & Eagle)
“Stuff that occurs underneath the floor has a stage of safety and separation from any sort of contamination versus the surfacing (water),” Hunter stated. “If it occurs, it occurs tomorrow.”
Nicely fields are prioritized with low nitrate counts, and the run order of every plant’s pumps is predicated on the nitrates within the order, Graves stated.
The longer a properly is pumped, the extra nitrate builds up within the provide, he stated, so metropolis water staff need to seesaw which wells are turned so as to to satisfy ingesting water requirements.
Partly due to this balancing act, not all of Enid’s water wells run on the similar time, Graves stated.
This map offered by town of Enid from its SCADA system reveals town’s 400 miles of water transmission traces from its properly fields in Cleo Springs, Ames, Drummond and Ringwood to Enid’s two remedy vegetation.
Nitrates are monitored by every day measurements as per state water high quality necessities. Excessive ranges may end up from improper properly development, properly location, overuse of chemical fertilizers or improper disposal of human and animal waste, in response to the Facilities for Illness Management and Prevention.
‘Doing all of it ourselves’
Enid is already considered one of (if not the) largest groundwater customers within the state, in response to the Oklahoma Water Sources Board. Town obtains its water from a complete 166 wells — 5 properly fields are developed in eight areas, from three groundwater aquifers in Northwest Oklahoma.
Pumps of various horsepower and measurement at properly discipline vegetation in Cleo Springs, Ames and Ringwood push the water by a number of transmission methods to Enid’s two remedy vegetation, whose pumps then push the then-treated water to town’s 50,000 residents by practically 400 miles of most important traces.
With the western remedy plant serving that half of town, the central plant on the Enid Service Heart advanced additionally serves clients north and east of Enid, together with exterior customers reminiscent of Koch Fertilizer’s plant close to Enid and the Oxbow Calcining plant close to Kremlin.
Hunter stated different cities of Enid’s measurement are inclined to contract to a bigger entity to deal with that work and will have a further pump, too.
Enid’s properly fields all through Northwest Oklahoma every have between 25 to 30 wells every, which cycle out and in of operation all year long.
A equally sized metropolis, although, would have round 30 wells for your entire water provide.
“We’re doing all of it ourselves,” Hunter stated. “So Enid is exclusive as a result of not that many cities are doing all of it.”
Hunter stated the scale of Enid’s operations is usually a weak point with restricted metropolis staffing to cowl such a variety of water properly fields.
Alternatively, he stated, if a particular properly discipline goes down — like when the transmission line coming from Ames was broken in late-2020 — town gained’t need to bear the complete brunt of all of a sudden being with out water, and employees can simply activate one other group of wells elsewhere.
To ease town’s burden, employees use the Supervisory Management and Knowledge Acquisition (SCADA) system to electronically monitor the continued standing of the 2 remedy vegetation, out-of-town properly vegetation and properly pumps, surge towers and elevated storage tanks.
Metropolis employees additionally use SCADA to remotely function the wells within the fields largely in Cleo Springs, Ames, Ringwood and Drummond. As a result of town additionally serves Vance Air Power Base, it has restricted entry into the system as properly.
This screenshot reveals town of Enid’s Supervisory Management and Knowledge Acquisition (SCADA) system, which utilities employees use to electronically function and monitor a lot of town’s huge water system each inside and outdoors of town. (Screenshot offered by town of Enid)
None of Enid’s 41 wells drawing water from the Enid Remoted Terrace Aquifer — positioned beneath town itself — are linked to the system, Hunter stated, as a result of they have been constructed so way back and are in shut proximity to the primary remedy plant.
Town additionally barely makes use of the provision from the aquifer anymore, in response to OWRB .
SCADA tracks the gallons per minute, stress per sq. inch and chlorine ranges, and its interface reveals a swap just like those on the precise vegetation and different buildings. It additionally tracks long-term properly information, like whether or not a properly has been working an excessive amount of during the last week, six months or 4 years.
If the interface reveals an error at one of many wells or vegetation — for instance, if a component is damaged or one thing is overflowing — SCADA will routinely web page a utilities supervisor, generally as early as 2 a.m.
Errors may be one or a mixture of communications failures; {an electrical} challenge known as “three-phase”; or an “overload,” when a plant or properly home panel receives an excessive amount of energy.
Hunter stated earlier than SCADA, a person with a clipboard would exit to every properly home, take a measurement, write it down and go to the following website.
An operations specialist nonetheless goes out each morning to all the vegetation to examine the electronics, although.
“Any time our guys need to exit manually or bodily to a website, that’s misplaced time,” Hunter stated. “So something we will do with a click on of a swap or a click on of a mouse, that’s what we wish.”
‘Not supposed to fret about it’
As every day demand for water will increase, so does the provision, Hunter stated — water use displays pure, diurnal human habits and habits.
Water utilization begins to spike when individuals get up and begin flushing their bathrooms and making espresso, falling once they go to highschool and to work. A rise begins once more when everybody comes dwelling, makes dinner, washes dishes and once more goes to the toilet.
Summertime sees demand spike much more when extra metropolis water is used to water lawns.
By design, sure plant pumps run whereas others sit on stand-by, as Graves defined. Metropolis employees will activate extra of town’s wells to compensate for the necessity.
“Folks don’t understand how exhausting it’s to maintain invisible infrastructure invisible,” Hunter added. “You’re solely speculated to stand up within the morning, flush your bathroom, take your bathe, make your espresso. … You’re not supposed to fret about it.”
In February 2021, metropolis employees responded to numerous water line breaks because of the state’s main winter ice storm. Hunter stated loads of Enid’s water wells additionally froze up, and a number of other’s cast-iron casings had cracked open. Your entire Ringwood water plant additionally froze and cracked.
Metropolis complete utilization fell again to about 8 million gallons Thursday, following a pointy every day decline since Monday from unusually excessive ranges stemming from the snowstorms.
By Feb. 18, citywide water utilization had spiked to greater than 12.4 million gallons a day, as extra Enid residents have been dripping their taps en masse to forestall pipe breaks. The Cleo Springs properly discipline was pumping at full capability however was unable to maintain up with demand because the Ringwood plant stayed down.
“It was just like a summer season in August,” Hunter stated. “It was most likely some methods greater than we’d see in August, as a result of it was simply continuous huge breaks after which a continuing huge demand that simply by no means shut off.”
In December 2021, town averaged between 7.5 million to eight million gallons of water, he stated. In line with a report commissioned by town in 2009, a every day common of 18.45 MGD is predicted for use by 2050.
Metropolis employees have repaired 5 wells this previous 12 months, in response to the mayor’s annual state of town deal with Friday.
Over the past 12 months and a half, town has extra frequently used the Ringwood plant, Graves stated. Nonetheless, lots of the wells in Ringwood’s properly discipline — already lengthy thought of a “drought-sensitive” discipline, thus working just for just a few months of the 12 months — stay offline, as they nonetheless await repairs from the winter storm and a fireplace a number of years in the past.
Extra tales within the Information & Eagle will proceed to have a look at the long run ripple results of town’s Kaw Lake mission on its close by properly fields.
