Design of Water Supply Pipe Networks - Assignment Example

Fire Science Water service is a system whereby a water cleaning company recycles wastes water in the community and sent them to people of the community to for use. The rapid increase of population in cities made early man to think critically on how to mitigate this challenge. It is a process that started in ancient Greece and India dated back 2000BC. People understand heating water as the only method of making water safe for domestic consumption, sand filtration and straining were other methods they employ. At around 1500BC Ancient Egyptians came up with the idea of coagulation. A chemical called alum ware poured on suspended particles. Hippocratic sleeve were later discovered by Hippocrates at around 500BC which they referred it to as the healing powers. The main thing done here was sieving of dirty water to obtain clean one. The first bag for filtering water was introduced during this era. The bag could hold sediments that make water dirty making people to be able to fetch clean water for consumption. Several discoveries were made and by middle Stone Age period, clean water supply was not difficult like before. Scientific discoveries had not been invented in during this time, but people had made significant improvements towards realizing them. The process of treating water is not as complex as it is feared. Companies’ responsible collects water from all sources in and around the cities treats them and sells them back for use. People use water daily for different reasons, once through with them, they dispose to drainage systems. This is the major source of water for these companies. Rivers, rain water among others are among other sources of water for treatment. They usually collect amount which is adequate for the entire population to avoid shortages in the cities. Water is a major component of most of the thing done by a man in his life. It ranges from household, recreational, industrial, environmental and agricultural among other uses. It is found out that 8% of water in the world goes for household consumption. Water for cooking, drinking, bathing sanitation, gardening among others consumes this percentage. Peter Gleick estimated basic household need for water at 50 liters per day. Drinking and cooking water need clean water to avoid dangers of getting diseases, thus bringing the need for cleaning water through water service companies in any environment. Clean water is called portable water as they can be consumed at any moment without the risk of any infection. In most first world countries, water distributed to household or industries are of drinking standards though not all of them would be used for that purpose. Industrial usage of water takes about 22% in the world. This is mainly contributed by major industries like the ones generating electricity, chemical processing firms, manufacturing industries, cooling plants among others. Most of them require large volume of water for their process to keep running. Hydroelectric plant obtains energy from forces of water flowing which drives their turbines to generate power. This is a low cost process as water is the source of most processes. It is also friendly to environment as it does not produce any gas, hence no pollution. Large industries also use water. Thermoelectric stations, fertilizer producing firms and oil refinery industries and other chemical firms requires large volume of water. Water discharged cause pollution, prompting the need for cleaning them for re use. This helps the firms in reducing the amount they need to source from outside since they can recycle and reuse what they had used previously. Agricultural products also require a large volume of water. It is believed that about 70% of water goes to irrigation. The rapid growth of population in the world (about 7 billion), there is need to increase food production. Irrigation is more reliable than natural rain water since it is possible to control. This helps in mitigating the risk of food shortage. Environmental water use is done in small percentage but still plays an important role in keeping the environment clean and beautiful. Flowerbeds and artificial forest requires water and though they are not consuming large quantity, they reduce amount available for human consumption and other uses they undertake. The treatment of water is a process involving several steps. Coagulation is the first step that takes place during water treatment process. This is a step in which big particles and dirt in water is removed. Some chemicals and alum are added to water to form small sticky elements which draws dirt in water. They produce heavy elements which sink during sedimentation. Sedimentation process involves settlement of particles at the bottom of the container as clean water moves on. Filtration follows, water passes through a filter which contains sand, gravel and charcoal which allows the filters to remove the smallest particles. Water is then disinfected by use of detergents such as chlorine or any other which helps kills any bacteria or organism that may be in water before they are stored. It is stored in tanks for some time before they are distributed through pipes to wherever they are needed. Water treatment systems are pressurized to deliver water by use of some techniques. Tank and booster combination pump is the most dependable system of delivering pressure to distribution centers. When water level goes down in the tank, the pump starts to pump water to the pipes. Hydropneumautic systems also help in pumping the water to pipes. The vessel has water and a pressure vessel with space for air which allows the entire system to force water through the pipes. When water is pumped out of the storage system, air space available increases and pressure goes down as a result. The pump starts working once it sense the reduced level of pressure. There are many types of piping used to transport water. The type mainly depends on the use of water transported. Polyvinyl chloride has a variety of pumping uses ranging from irrigation, supplying homes among others. Galvanized pipe is another type of piping commonly used for transporting water. It has an iron pipe which keeps off water from destroying the pipe. It is considered a safest way of transporting drinking water and even for commercial purposes. Copper pipes are used for transporting hot and cold water. It works efficiently both underground and above as they are hardest to break. They are well installed to avoid leakages and break up causing unnecessary shortages interruptions. Fire hydrant is connected to pipes which carries water. They help generate more pressure which pumps water to firms, homes, industries among others. The pressure in these vessels is high but not high enough to put off fire when it occurs. In cold areas, hydrants have more complexity as during winter, water freezes and expand. To mitigate this problem, no water can stay in the upper part of the hydrant when it is put off. When designing a pipe layout, there are several factors that need to be considered. Pipe run and length is crucial. The run should be kept as short as possible to avoid several braches. Long pipes run reduce the rate which water flows, loss of heat and materials needed for use. The point which gets into building should be kept in an isolated place for it to be safe. The pipes needed must be of good quality to avoid breakages as most of them goes through underground. In conclusion, water is one of the most important components in man life. Shortages may result in severe damage hence there is need to put in place measures to avoid that. Treating water for consumption is god for human life to avoid dangers of losing lives. Pipes used must be of required standard also. References Swamee, P. K., & Sharma, A. K. (2008). Design of water supply pipe networks. Hoboken, N.J: Wiley-Interscience. Read More