Round
round it goes ...
and
Various methods help communities locate, store, move,
purify, and reuse water – our most precious resource.
W
ater is vital to life. It’s critical to the proper
functioning of the human body, which is itself
around 75% water. It’s also essential to agriculture,
manufacturing, recreation, transportation – almost every
system depends on a steady water supply.
Communities take their mandate to provide a reliable
supply of safe drinking water to their residents seriously.
The people who work at ensuring that potable water supply
know it’s no easy task to acquire, treat, store, and distribute
that water. It takes watchful daily monitoring, thoughtful
planning for the future, and careful engineering.
The Rocky Mountain region has experienced several
years of drought in the last decade. This year the snow pack
in the mountains is higher than normal, which should mean
a good supply for cities like Fort Collins, Colorado. That
doesn’t mean Sue Paquette can relax, however. As special
projects manager for the City Utilities, her duties include
making sure the City can meet new demands for its water.
“I feel I could do without electricity, but I can’t do without
water,” she said. “Whenever I’m asked to do something
from a development review standpoint, I take it seriously
because this is for the City of Fort Collins, and I drink that
water.”
Water modeling software helps take the guesswork
out of the water system. Paquette said the water model
simulates the water transmission and distribution system.
Ayres Associates water resources engineer Chris Pletcher
said the water model is like a board game that can allow
by Wendy Kinderman
system operators to identify needs and try different
scenarios for meeting those needs. “We can see what
happens without messing with the real world and a huge
system with huge costs involved,” he said.
For example, Paquette can simulate the effects on the
system of adding a three-story building at a specific
location: Will there be enough water pressure and supply
for adequate fire protection? How will it affect the
distribution system? She can also use the model to
determine the effect of size changes for water mains in
an area due for reconstruction before the pipes are in the
ground. The model also allows operators to complete water
quality analysis.
In the Midwest, melting snow fills lakes and rivers and
infiltrates into the soil. But despite the bountiful surface
water in states like Wisconsin, most communities
depend on groundwater – and getting to that groundwater
can be a challenge.
Much of Wisconsin’s groundwater
comes from glacial till (sand or
gravel aquifer) or
sandstone. The
geology