EnglishValve Selection for Pump Stations and Water Treatment Plants
In urban water supply systems, pumping stations and treatment plants serve as critical facilities, responsible for water intake, pressurization, and distribution. Valves, as the core devices ensuring the safety and stability of the pipeline network, play a decisive role in system reliability. An inappropriate valve selection can lead to several problems:
- Water hammer impact: When pumps start or stop, a valve that closes too quickly may trigger water hammer, potentially damaging pipelines and pump units.
- Backflow risks: If check valves fail to provide adequate protection, backflow may occur, contaminating clear-water reservoirs or damaging equipment.
- Maintenance challenges: Poorly positioned isolation valves can enlarge the shutdown area during repairs, raising operational risks.
- Balancing cost and reliability: Municipal water systems demand valves that deliver long service life and high reliability, while also taking procurement and maintenance costs into account.
For these reasons, the scientific selection and proper configuration of butterfly valves, gate valves, and check valves are essential to enhancing both the safety and cost-effectiveness of pumping stations and water treatment plants.
Pump Station Valve Configuration
In urban water supply systems, pump stations play a crucial role in boosting water pressure and ensuring continuous water supply. Due to the frequent operation of pump stations, the configuration and selection of valves have a decisive impact on system stability. Typically, the main valve configurations in a pump station include inlet gate valves, outlet check valves and butterfly valves, as well as bypass valves for auxiliary operations.
Inlet Configuration
Gate valves are commonly used as isolation valves at the inlet of pump stations, offering the following advantages:
- Minimal flow resistance when fully open, ensuring stable water supply flow.
- Complete isolation of water flow during maintenance, facilitating reliable isolation and ease of maintenance for pumps and pipelines.
- Soft-seal gate valves are the preferred choice due to their excellent sealing performance and ease of operation.
Outlet Configuration
The typical combination for pump station outlet pipelines is check valves and butterfly valves.
Check valves: Prevent backflow of the medium and pump reversal, and avoid water hammer impacts when the pump is shut down. In high-head pump stations, slow-closing check valves are recommended to reduce water hammer risks;
Butterfly valves: Compact structure and rapid opening/closing, suitable for isolation and flow control in large-diameter pipelines.
Bypass System Configuration:
To balance pressure and prevent system shocks during pump startup or shutdown, pump stations often install bypass pipes equipped with small-diameter butterfly valves or gate valves. These valves help vent air or maintain stable flow, thereby extending the service life of the pump and piping.
In summary, pump station valve selection should comprehensively consider pipe diameter, pressure, water quality, and operational costs. Through reasonable configuration, system reliability can be significantly enhanced.
Water Treatment Plant Valve Configuration
Water treatment plants play a critical role in the purification, storage, and distribution of clean water, making them one of the most important components of a city's water supply system. In this process, the proper configuration of valves not only affects water quality safety but also directly impacts system operational efficiency and the ease of maintenance.
Common valve configurations include discharge valves for clean water tanks, isolation valves for main pipelines, distribution pipeline valves, and check valves at pump station outlets.
Clear Water Tank Outlet Configuration
Large-diameter gate valves or butterfly valves are typically installed between the clear water tank and the main pipeline.
- Gate valve advantages: Suitable for maintaining a fully open or fully closed state for extended periods, providing reliable isolation during maintenance of the clear water tank or pipeline network.
- Butterfly valve advantages: Rapid opening and closing, compact structure, offering greater cost-effectiveness and operational convenience in large-diameter applications.
Main pipeline valve selection
Gate valves remain the mainstream choice, enabling pipeline segment isolation during faults or maintenance to minimise water supply interruptions. Their low flow resistance and high sealing performance help ensure water supply efficiency and water quality safety.
Image source: AVK
Distribution Pipeline Valve Configuration
In water distribution processes, branch pipelines often require frequent opening and closing operations. In such scenarios, butterfly valves are the optimal choice—lightweight, space-saving, and capable of maintaining good sealing performance in medium-to-low-pressure pipelines, making them an economical and reliable option for distribution pipelines.
Image source: istockphoto
Pump House Outlet Protection Solution
At the outlet of a clear water pump station or secondary pressure-boosting pump house, check valves are indispensable.
They prevent backflow contamination of the clear water tank, protect pumps and pipelines from backflow impact, and for systems sensitive to water hammer, it is recommended to install slow-closing check valves to mitigate pressure fluctuations that could damage equipment.
Image source: youtube-Animation: A.R.I.
Overall, the configuration of valves in a water treatment plant should follow the principles of “safety first, efficient operation, and easy maintenance.” Gate valves provide reliable isolation on main pipelines and at the outlet of clean water reservoirs, butterfly valves enable quick opening and closing in distribution lines, and check valves ensure one-way flow and system safety at pump outlets. By combining these types of valves in a balanced way, the stability and long-term reliability of the plant’s operation can be significantly improved.
Material and Pressure Rating Specifications
In the selection of valves for pump stations and water supply plants, material and pressure rating are key factors determining whether valves can operate stably over the long term. Improper selection may lead to premature valve failure and even affect the safety of the entire water supply system.
Valve Material and Pressure Class Reference Table
|
Category |
Type |
Characteristics & Typical Applications |
|
Common Valve Body Materials |
Ductile Iron |
The most commonly used valve body material in today’s municipal water supply projects. Its strength and toughness are both superior to gray cast iron. Combined with an epoxy resin coating, it can effectively prevent corrosion, offering high cost-effectiveness and suitability for most clean water supply conditions. |
|
|
Stainless Steel 304 |
Ideal for high water quality requirements or mildly corrosive conditions; commonly used in drinking water treatment, food, and pharmaceutical applications. |
|
|
Stainless Steel 316 |
Corrosion resistance superior to 304; suitable for chlorine-containing or weakly acidic environments; more reliable but higher cost. |
|
|
Rubber-Lined Body |
Inner wall lined with rubber, enhancing abrasion and corrosion resistance. Suitable for sewage or pipelines with suspended solids, extending service life. |
|
Common Sealing Materials |
EPDM |
Widely used in municipal water and drinking water systems. Excellent resistance to aging and ozone; compliant with potable water standards. |
|
|
PTFE (Polytetrafluoroethylene) |
Outstanding chemical resistance; suitable for aggressive water qualities or systems with strict hygienic requirements. |
|
Pressure Ratings |
PN10 |
Suitable for low-pressure networks and irrigation systems. |
|
|
PN16 |
The most common choice, covering the majority of urban water supply networks. |
|
|
PN25 |
Used for high-rise buildings, booster stations, or applications requiring higher safety margins. |
Selection Tip: Always match valve specifications with pipeline diameter, operating pressure, and pump discharge pressure, ensuring that the rated pressure is never lower than the system’s working pressure.
Common Issues and Solutions
During the operation of pump stations and water treatment plants, the selection and use of valves often encounter common issues. If not properly addressed, these issues can not only affect water supply efficiency but also pose a threat to system safety. The following lists several typical issues and their corresponding solutions.
1.Water Hammer Impact
When pump stations start or stop, or valves close rapidly, water hammer phenomena are likely to occur, causing pipeline vibration, flange leaks, or even equipment damage.
Solution: Install a slow-closing check valve at the pump station outlet to prevent sudden backflow of the medium; install air valves at critical locations to help release gases from the pipeline and reduce pressure fluctuations.
2. Difficulty in Operating Large-Diameter Valves
In large-diameter pipelines, traditional gate valves or manually operated butterfly valves may face issues such as inconvenient opening/closing and excessive torque.
Solution: Recommend using butterfly valves as opening/closing valves for large-diameter pipelines, and configure gearboxes or electric actuators as needed to reduce operational burden and improve operational efficiency.
3. Inconvenient maintenance and repairs
In some water treatment plants or pipeline nodes, due to insufficient valve installations, maintenance often requires widespread water shutdowns, affecting water supply safety.
Solution: Reasonably arrange gate valves at critical nodes such as main pipelines and clear water tank outlets for zone isolation, ensuring that most areas can maintain normal water supply during local maintenance.
4. Valve corrosion and seal failure
In water supply systems with acidic or alkaline water quality or containing impurities, the inner walls and seals of valves are prone to wear or corrosion, affecting sealing performance.
Solution: Select appropriate materials based on operating conditions, such as ductile iron valve bodies with epoxy coatings, stainless steel valve bodies, or rubber-lined designs, while using seals compliant with drinking water standards (e.g., EPDM, PTFE).
By addressing these issues systematically, pump stations and water treatment plants can significantly enhance system operational reliability, extend valve service life, and reduce maintenance costs.
Summarize
In summary, as core components of the urban water supply system, the scientific selection and reasonable configuration of valves in pump stations and water supply plants directly determine the safety, efficiency, and sustainability of system operation.
Union Valve has always been dedicated to the research, development, and manufacturing of conventional valves, committed to providing reliable and efficient valve solutions for municipal water supply systems.
Our product range includes butterfly valves, gate valves, check valves, and more, widely applied at critical nodes in pump stations, water treatment plants, and distribution networks, helping customers achieve the optimal balance between water quality safety, system stability, and cost control.If you have any further questions, please contact us.
