Putting It Back

by Michael R. Markus, (M.ASCE), Proj. Mgr.; Orange County Water District, Fountain Valley, CA,
J. Donald Houser, (M.ASCE), Principal Engineer; James M. Montgomery Consulting Engineers, Inc., Pasadena, CA,
Constantino M. Senon, Principal Engineer; James M. Montgomery Consulting Engineers, Inc., Pasadena, CA,


Serial Information: Civil Engineering—ASCE, 1991, Vol. 61, Issue 10, Pg. 56-57


Document Type: Feature article

Abstract:

Before construction of the largest inclined turbines in the U.S., the Santa Ana River would carry storm flows out to sea, lost to the residents of water-poor Orange County. The area's aquifer receives only 12-15 in. of rain each year and has to supply over 1.5 million people, causing it to be depleted and dirtied by overuse. Now, when the river swells above normal levels, water is diverted to Burris Pit, an old gravel pit adjacent to the river, then pumped through a pipeline to a percolation basin. Designed by James M. Montgomery Consulting Engineers, Pasadena, Calif., the $4.8 million pumping station and $10.5 million pipeline can handle 25,000 acre-ft per year of excess storm water. The original pump-station design was a conventional vertical turbine installation, but sediment might have caused a siltation problem when not all of the pumps were operational. We chose inclined turbines installed on the slope into Burris Pit to prevent this siltation.

Subject Headings: Turbines | Pumps | Water pipelines | Stormwater management | Silt | Pumping stations | Pipelines

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