Soon

Fresh water sources and conveyance

The main sources of drinking water are underground aquifers or surface lakes and rivers, the water from these sources is carried to the places of consumption by pumping and conveyance by pipeline network or by gravity through canals. There are other forms as sources of drinking water by treating ocean water in a desalination process or by treating wastewater from municipalities or industries.

Collection of underground sources

They are the aquifers and phreatic mantles. Aquifers are masses of water accumulated inside the earth's crust, coming from the condensation of water vapor inside the planet or rainwater. Mantles are layers of fresh water from aquifers that are closer to the surface. It is generally drinking water that only needs domestic disinfection.

Water galleries

It is used to capture seepage of surface water by installing slotted tubes at shallow depths that carry the water by gravity to a dam.

Wells and drilling

It is the oldest and most used type of catchment, it is done by drilling a well to the aquifer, the depth in most cases between 30 m and 300 m or more.

Radial wells

Known as Ranney wells, they differ from ordinary wells in that slotted pipes are installed radially to the well itself to increase collection capacity.

Surface source collection

They are rivers, streams and lakes. They can have different origins and feed; such as rains or thaws. In many cases it is drinking water, but when those same bodies receive wastewater discharges, it must be made drinkable.

Forms of surface water collection:

Dam or reservoir

It is to store water from rivers and streams, obstructing the free passage by means of a curtain, taking advantage of the orography of the land.

Lateral intakes

They are carried out through channels built on the side of mighty rivers and that carry the water to a collection tank.

Submerged intake

They are perforated tubes or tubes with a grid (they retain solids and prevent them from entering the system) that are placed at the bottom of the channel where the water is captured through pumps.

Floating intake

It is used to capture water from rivers, lakes and reservoirs and consists of a floating structure that is anchored to the bottom of surface water.

Channels or drains

They are channels that are excavated on the surface following the topographic slope and that capture surface waters, leading them to a dam.

Water conveying system

Conveyance is the part of the system that gets water from the collection site, either by means of pumping or gravity, to a regulation tank, water treatment plant or distribution network. Within the types of conveyance, we can find the following:

Conveyance by pumping

Conveyance by pumping is necessary when it is required to add energy to obtain the design flow rate. This type of conveyance is generally used when the elevation of the water at the supply source is less than the piezometric height required at the delivery point. The pumping equipment provides the necessary energy to achieve the transport of water.

Pump-gravity conveyance

If the topography of the land forces the conveyance outline to come across parts with a higher elevation than the water surface in the regularization tank, it is convenient to analyze the placement of an intermediate tank. The installation of said tank calls for conveyance by pumping-gravity, where the first part is done by pumping and the second by gravity.

Gravity conveyance

Conveyance by gravity occurs when the elevation of the water in the supply source is greater than the required or existing piezometric height at the point of delivery of the water, the transport of the fluid is achieved by the difference in available energy.

Conveying network

In some places, it is necessary to look for alternative sources for water supply, resulting in these sources being located in separate places, which results in the need to interconnect the conveying lines of each source, thus forming a conveyance network.

ECN Automation
offers comprehensive solutions.

Contact us