Improved Operation Strategy of the Pumping System Implemented in Timisoara Municipal Water Treatment Station

Water treatment stations (WTSs) provide drinking water to the community and are critical infrastructures of any village or city. The main energy consumption of WTSs is associated with the operation of the pumping units installed in the water supply stations (WSSs). The parameters of the pumping units installed in the WSSs are continuously adjusted during service to meet the requirements of the customers. Therefore, variable-speed pumping units (VSPUs) are feasible technical solutions implemented in WSSs. Several strategies combining VSPUs and constant-speed pumping units (CSPUs) have been developed to operate in WSSs. A technical solution with four pumping units (two VSPUs and two CSPUs) is implemented in Timisoara pumping station No. 1 (TPS1) in the Bega municipal water treatment station (MWTS). The layout of TPS1 is detailed, and its energy consumption from the budget of the Bega MWTS is quantified. The operation strategy with four pumping units selected in TPS1 is investigated. The number of hours in service of each pumping unit and the total operating time of all pumping units in the last six years are examined. The specific power consumption associated with the operation of the pumping units installed in TSP1 is detailed. The failure incidents of the pumping units counted in service are enumerated and correlated with the operating conditions of the pumping units. A new strategy developed for the operation of the pumping units installed in TPS1 is proposed to better adapt to the operating conditions, improving the specific power consumption as well as diminishing the failure incidents. The new operation strategy is presented and assessed based on the data acquired from TPS1 over one year. The conclusions and the lessons learned in this case study are drawn in the last section.