Drinking Water Distribution System in Hinesville, Georgia Paper Example

Introduction

The chosen topic for this discussion is topic 1: drinking water distribution systems on chapter 7 of the Nathanson and Scheneider (2015) book "Basic environmental technology: Water supply, waste management, and pollution control." The chosen city for examining the drinking water distribution systems is Hinesville, Georgia. It is a city with a population of 33,140 based on the 2017 statistics (United States Census Bureau, n.d). The water department in Hinesville, Georgia is located in the City Hall building (CivicPlus, n.d). It provides the city residents with water, sewer, garbage pick-up and disposal as well as dry trash pick-up. One of the responsibilities of the water department is to provide people with clean drinking water. The department has taken crucial initiatives in sourcing and managing clean water services to the city residents in Hinesville, Georgia. The essay will be discussing the drinking water distribution system in Hinesville, Georgia with the aim of explaining the approximate total length of pipe in the system, the population served and water source. The types of pipe materials used in the system, the number of water towers and or pumping stations and the problems with the system will also be discussed.

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The Distribution System

The drinking water distribution system in Hinesville is a series of interconnected elements including pipes, storage facilities including six tanks and four wells as well as valves among other components to convey from the source to the user. The system meets all the necessary elements of a water distribution system including the fire protection requirements and a continuous supply of safe drinking water at high pressures for all consumers (Nathanson & Schneider, 2015). The drinking water distribution system carries water from the treatment plants to the storage tanks in the city. The pipes are portable and move approximately 184 miles in length within the main lines of the drinking water distribution system. The water distribution system consists of 1,252 fire hydrants and 2,480 water valves to serve the people in the entire city (City of Hinesville, Georgia, 2015).

Population and Water Source

The drinking water distribution system in Hinesville, Georgia serves the entire population of over 33,000 people within the city (City of Hinesville, Georgia, 2015). The system distributes high quality water to the town residents. The main water source for the drinking water distribution system is the Floridan aquifer system which is a think series of Paleogene carbonate rock. The system is supplied by four groundwater wells that withdraw water from the Upper Floridan Aquifer (City of Hinesville, Georgia, 2017). The Floridan aquifer system is the main source of water for many of the cities in the central and northern Florida and other parts of Georgia including Hinesville (The United States Geological Survey, n.d). Water from the main source is distributed within the system with the use of pipes.

The Types of Pipe Materials Used in the System

The drinking water distribution system in Hinesville, Georgia uses purple pipes for the non-portable reuse water system that is made of 153 valves and a distribution line running 27 miles across the city (City of Hinesville, Georgia, 2015). The ductile iron pipes are installed in the water distribution systems. Plastic pipes are also used during repairs and maintenance. According to Nathanson and Schneider (2015), the ductile iron pipe is a stronger material and more classic when compared to cast iron pipe used in the 1900s. It is less vulnerable to damage during construction and corrosive resistant. The use of plastic pipe is also advantageous for the water distribution system as they are strong, durable, light in weight, corrosion resistant, easy to handle and install (Nathanson & Schneider, 2015).

The Number of Pumping Stations

There are 42 lift/pump stations to ensure water is running all the time (City of Hinesville, Georgia, 2015). Each station is inspected based on the risk profile associated with it. From the main source, the Floridan aquifer system, water is pumped to the two treatment tanks. The treated water is then pumped to one central tank in the city that carries four-million-gallons of water per day. More pumping of water is done at the central water tank to other storage tanks that distributes the drinking water to the people in the city (City of Hinesville, Georgia, 2015). However, there are several issues that hinder the system from an effective distribution of drinking water to the city.

Problems with the System

The drinking water distribution system in Hinesville, Georgia has several problems. There are water breaks, service line leaks, line locates, gravity line and force main experienced from time to time (City of Hinesville, Georgia, 2015). However, the collections and distribution department makes repairs of these problems to prevent their recurrence. The fire hydrants and valves also present the challenge of breakages and maintenance is made from time to time. Data shows that the system had 2,364 preventive maintenance and 2,386 corrective maintenance cases of breaks down in the year 2014 (City of Hinesville, Georgia, 2015). The water department disinfects that water from time to time to ensure it is safe for drinking.

Types of Disinfection Used

The water quality from the drinking water distribution system in Hinesville, Georgia is affected by various contaminants. Therefore, it requires the water department to disinfect from time to time to reduce the concentrations of those contaminants. The types of disinfection used in the drinking water distribution system include the Total Trihalomethanes (TTHMs) (ppb) and Haloacetic Acids (HAA5) (ppb) (City of Hinesville, Georgia, 2017). The TTHMs is a by-product of drinking water disinfection. The HAA5 is a by-product of drinking water chlorination. These disinfectants are used to control the microbial contaminants in the water. Fluorination is also used to disinfect the water from inorganic contaminants of Fluoride from erosion of natural deposits, a water additive that strengthens teeth, fertilizer discharge and aluminium factories discharge.

References

City of Hinesville, Georgia. (2015). 2014 operations report. Operations Management Services. Retrieved from http://www.cityofhinesville.org/DocumentCenter/View/1876/Hinesville-Public-Works-Annual-Report-2015?bidId=

City of Hinesville, Georgia. (2017). Hinesville, Georgia's water quality report for water treated in 2016. Retrieved from https://www.cityofhinesville.org/ArchiveCenter/ViewFile/Item/1128

CivicPlus. (n.d). Water Department. Hinesville, Georgia. Retrieved from https://www.cityofhinesville.org/167/Water-Department

Nathanson, J. A., & Schneider, R. A. (2015). Basic environmental technology: Water supply, waste management, and pollution control. (6th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.

United States Census Bureau. (n.d). Quick Facts: Hinesville city, Georgia. Retrieved from https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/hinesvillecitygeorgia/PST045217

U.S. Geological Survey. (n.d). Floridan aquifer system groundwater availability study. https://fl.water.usgs.gov/floridan/intro.html