ValvesSensorsSystems
Case Study: Mixing System eliminates water stagnation
in finished water storage facilities
Tideflex® Technologies has developed a way to improve
water quality in distribution-system reservoirs by putting its
patented Tideflex® Check Valve technology to an innovative
new use.
The Tideflex® Mixing System (TMS) is a combination of
Tideflex® Check Valves and a simple piping manifold that,
when installed inside a water storage tank, improves overall
circulation and mixing, eliminating stagnation and hydraulic
short-circuiting.
“The TMS is a great idea for any tank that has a
single protrusion. It solves the problems associated
with a common inlet/outlet without doing
any excavation. It’s a really great way to go.”
Jon Billeci, plant superintendent, City of Antioch
The City of Antioch, Calif., was one of the first to put the TMS
to the test when it launched a 350,000 USD upgrade to its
33-year-old finished water storage reservoir. Like many older
tanks, this circular 11,300m3 reservoir was designed with a
single protrusion that acted as a common inlet and outlet.
While this type of design adequately supplies the required
hydraulics of the distribution system, it will not necessarily
maintain water quality within the reservoir. Many finished
water storage reservoirs have problems with deteriorating
water quality as a result of short-circuiting, where water
outside the inlet/outlet area of influence becomes stagnant,
causing the disinfectant residual to decrease. The loss of
disinfectant residual and long detention times can result in
the development of bacteria, formation of disinfection by
products and nitrification in chloraminated systems.
The TMS was designed to be a simple, reliable and cost-
effective system to eliminate stagnation through enhanced
mixing in finished water storage tanks.
The system makes use of two sets of Tideflex® Check Valves
and a simple piping manifold. The first set of Tideflex®
discharge during filling, and the second set discharge during
draining. The two sets of Tideflex® are positioned on the
manifold to maximize the distance between the inlet and
MeasurIT Technologies Ltd.
Craan, Craanford,
Gorey, Co. Wexford, Ireland
measurIT technologies
Antioch, California, USA
outlet, thereby eliminating short-circuiting and
improving mixing. The TMS is a lower cost solution
for achieving a separate inlet/outlet than a dual-
pipe system, which requires two tank protrusions
and additional excavation, pipe, valves and fittings.
Because Tideflex® Check Valves are constructed
of durable elastomer, the TMS offers reliable,
repeatable performance. The valves are passive,
have no mechanical parts and require only
differential head to operate - no outside energy
source is required, so operational costs are kept to a
minimum.
City of Antioch Plant Superintendent Jon Billeci
decided that if the tank were going to be
rehabilitated, it would have to be done right; he
wanted all new, reliable equipment for a reservoir
that would operate efficiently while maintaining
prime drinking water quality.
Consulting engineering firm Brown and Caldwell,
Pleasant Hill, Calif., presented Tideflex® Mixing
System to Billeci as a virtually maintenance-free way
to improve water quality by eliminating stagnation
through enhanced mixing in the reservoir without
performing costly tank alterations. The TMS could
be easily installed using the single protrusion that
already existed at the bottom of the tank.
email: info@measurIT.com Phone: +353 (0) 53 942 8962
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Furthermore, Tideflex® Check Valves will never freeze
open or become stuck open due to entrapped debris,
a maintenance problem that Billeci had experienced
with some types of metal check valves.

Because he wanted to eliminate the potential for

stagnation in the tank and because he was pleased
with the reliable construction of the Tideflex® Check
Valves, Billeci opted to install the TMS.

“I was a little skeptical at first,” Billeci admitted. He

decided to see for himself whether the valves would
truly close drop-tight around entrapped debris. He
entered the tank and tried to lodge one of the valves
open with a heavy-duty flashlight and was amazed
at the valve’s ability to seal around such a large
obstruction.
Another point of skepticism for Billeci was the rubber-
like construction of the Tideflex® Check Valve. The
City of Antioch uses chloramines, which contain a
small amount of ammonia, as the primary disinfectant
in its water storage tanks. Certain types of rubber,
Billeci knew, would deteriorate upon contact with the
ammonia. He took curtains made of Hypalon®, the
elastomer that would comprise the Tideflex® Check
Valves proposed for installation in the Antioch tank,
and soaked them in pure ammonia to simulate the
effect that the diluted ammonia would have on the
valve over a long period of operation. “They looked the
same when I pulled them out as they did when I put
them in,” he said. “I was very satisfied with the material.”
Billeci has also been content with the continual
and reliable operation of the TMS. “We have had no
maintenance problems of any kind,” he said. “Everyone
is quite pleased.”
Antioch’s experience is just one success story. The
Tideflex® Mixing System can be easily installed in
reservoirs, standpipes and elevated tanks of all shapes
and capacities, whether they are newly constructed or
several decades old. “Stagnation in single-protrusion
reservoirs is an age-old problem that can have a
severely negative affect on finished drinking water,”
said Tideflex® Technologies President George Raftis.
“The Tideflex® Mixing System is an efficient and reliable
solution for improving tank mixing and circulation
without the expense associated with modifying
a structure.”

Billeci’s satisfaction has continued ever since the TMS read more at www.measurIT.com
has been installed and operating in Antioch’s water
storage reservoir. “The TMS is a great idea for any
tank that has a single protrusion,” he said. “It solves Figure 1 — Problem
the problems associated with a common inlet/outlet When a common inlet/outlet
without doing any excavation. It’s a really great way to is used, water outside its area
go.” of influence becomes stagnant.

Jet Velocity vs. Flow

Figure 2 — Solution
The TMS promotes optimum
mixing in all areas of the tank.
TIDEFLEX ®
Jet Velocity

Flow Rate
Tideflex significantly enhances jet velocity
®
Engineered rubber check sleeves have memory: forward
at all fill rates, optimizing mixing. hydraulic pressure opens the valve, and reverse pressure
seals the bill, preventing backflow.

MeasurIT Technologies Ltd.

Craan, Craanford, email: info@measurIT.com Phone: +353 (0) 53 942 8962
Gorey, Co. Wexford, Ireland www.measurIT.com Fax: +353 (0) 53 942 8963