Originally published in The Vidette-Messenger of Porter County on November 19, 1970.
One Completed At Filtration Plant
By BETTY MISCH
A two-year undertaking at Flint Lake Water Department is now well underway with the completion of one of four new rate controllers being built by the department, Philip Coote, chief engineer, has reported.
The rate controller is an automatic device that controls the amount of water flowing through the filters at the plant in relation to the cleaness of the filters. An indicator shows when filters need back washing. Don Ungurait, pumping station superintendent, explained.
The present manually-operated system has been in operation since 1950. The new automatic, more accurate system is designed to produce better quality water and at the same time, increase efficiency, Coote said.
Old valves are gate valves, Ungurait explained, while new ones being installed are butterfly valves, the newest thing in water works. “They should hold up better, last longer, and be more efficient,” he added.
Actual water flow of the new system will be regulated electronically. After flow rate is set, a signal from the metering device will automatically control the flow rate.
New control valves are operated by push buttons instead of the manually-turned wheels used in the old system, the men explained.
The project, approved by the Valparaiso Water Board in February, was begun as soon as valves were delivered by the Henry Pratt Co., Aurora, Ill., and electrical components were received from the Hayes Corp., Michigan City. Total cost of valves and electrical components for one rate controller was nearly $3,000.
A great deal of the cost of the new unit is saved by the department building it. If contracted for installation, each unit would cost an estimated $4,000, Coote noted.
The old manual type rate controllers which have been in use are no longer allowed by the State Board of Health. New valves will give a higher quality product and better control of water filtration.
Operation of the Valparaiso Water Department’s filtration plant at Flint Lake was started in 1907, only two years after the first filtration plant began operation in the United States.
At that time, two filter beds were built. A third bed was added in 127, and a fourth in 1950. With the increase in population, further expansion will be necessary in the future, Coote noted.
Installing 4 New Rate Controllers
Philip Coote, chief engineer of Valparaiso Water Department, (in photo at top) points out newly installed rate control valve, part of new filtration system being built by department.
Installing 4 New Rate Controllers
Coote explains how old water filtration system worked
Installing 4 New Rate Controllers
Don Ungurait, plant superintendent, explains new push-button control panel. New system, which will take two years to complete, will be more accurate than present system.
