Water intakes in Krasnoyarsk

Today, a water intake facility, a special water structure, is responsible for water in a populated area.

What is water intake?

This is a complex structure consisting of devices for collecting, cleaning, counting and redirecting water. The abbreviated name of the complex is VZU — water intake unit.

A standard water supply system consists of modules that simply ensure its uninterrupted operation. But to supply a larger volume of water, larger structures are installed. Such installations may have an entire infrastructure, which includes a boiler room for heating, a control room for continuous monitoring , and even a laboratory for analyzing the quality of the water.

The water intake unit consists of:

• From pumping equipment (first lift station) for direct water intake;
• Water meters and water quality;
• Water treatment devices to bring its quality to the required standards;
• The second pumping station (second lift) is already for supplying water to the consumer;
• Clean water tank for continuous water supply.

Additionally, the water intake is equipped with:

• Spare tank in case of fire extinguishing;
• Water tower — to replace the second lift pump and supply water to the consumer;
• Excess water drainage system;
• Automatic monitoring system for equipment serviceability and water circulation.

Where is the VZU installed?

Construction of a water intake always begins with coordinating the location with the executive state bodies. The event of choosing a location always touches upon legal issues of water use, namely: harm to the environment, potential water quality, the possibility of installing a water intake facility in a specific location.

Water intake structures are installed taking into account:

• The tasks facing the equipment;
• Type of water collection system;
• The quality and quantity of water in a particular area;
• Rationality and economy of water collection in this area;
• Hydrological, geological and topographic conditions of the place;
• Other nearby water supply facilities and coordinated work with them.

If a water intake is installed without complying with these requirements, the owner or person responsible for the installation may be forced to demolish it and be subject to fines by state environmental control authorities.

It is important that the arrangement of water intake units does not destroy the local water ecosystem. When assessing a source, the state at the time of the examination should be assessed and a forecast should be made on the rationality of using water resources.

Provided that there may be a shortage of quality water from one source, the VZU can be mixed. This means that one station can provide several ways of obtaining water for drinking or industrial purposes.

The territory where the station is located is considered to be guarded. Entry to it by outsiders is prohibited by state acts and internal regulations, if it is a large restricted facility. The intensity of security depends on the conditional level of the zone, which can be:

• Strict regime — access only for personnel or with special documents;
• Bacteriological contamination;
• Chemical pollution.

Types of modern water intakes

Water is present on different layers of soil. Surface accumulations are called reservoirs, rivers, lakes, etc. Underground sources are artesian waters, underground rivers. Accordingly, WSUs are also classified into surface and underground intake systems.

Water intake on the surface does not require drilling a well and installing pumping equipment in a ditch. Water from such resources is much easier to extract, but its quality is worse, because there are more pollution factors.

Underground water intakes are more difficult to install, with the use of special construction equipment. But such water is considered cleaner and more stable in quality, because the number of harmful factors is reduced by its inaccessibility.

Surface water management facility

Not all external waters can be used as a source of water supply. Each water body subject to water use undergoes mandatory examination and is recognized as profitable in terms of extraction.

List of water resources suitable for human use:

• Rivers are watercourses with a natural flow and meeting the requirements for size;
• Reservoirs and lakes are man-made and natural water bodies that do not have open access to the sea and are used in the national economy;
• Seas are large bodies of water separated from the world's oceans by land or underwater terrain.

Depending on the location of water intake, the following water intake structures are distinguished:

• Coastal. This is a large well into which water enters through openings in one of its sides. All openings for water are equipped with a filter grate;
• Channel. Through a specially diverted head into the water, water enters the pipes, where it is filtered and supplied to the consumer;
• Bucket. A recess is made in the designated area where water falls and enters the filter system, where it is cleaned of ice and biochemical contaminants.

The degree of water filtration depends on the purpose of its use. For drinking and cooking, it undergoes deep purification in several stages. When constructing a water storage facility, the amount of water required to supply a specific settlement, city or private home is also calculated proactively.

To irrigate a farm, ensure production or keep livestock, water undergoes general bacteriological and mechanical filtration in a water collection system.

Water intake from underground sources

Conventionally, underground waters are recognized as watercourses at a depth of at least 7-10 meters. Such water resources are convenient to extract for rural settlements, private plots and cities. The water in them requires much less processing, and its inflow is always stable.

All underground drilling rigs are classified by the type of installation: horizontal drilling — used for laying pipelines and similar communications, vertical drilling — to obtain the deepest possible trench downwards and angular drilling.

Inland water collection structures:

• Wells — used to collect water at a depth of up to 10 meters. They have the form of a telescopic well and are installed by drilling the soil to the required depth, followed by the installation of filters;
• Shaft wells. These are special VZU that extract water from sources located at a depth of up to 30 meters. They are installed by vertical drilling of the rock with a filter installed at the bottom;
• Horizontal wells — designed to collect water from a shallow depth — 5-8 meters. Often this is a concrete pipeline with special gaps, where an inspection well is installed to monitor the flow and quality of water;
• Capture chambers. In their structure they resemble vertically drilled shafts, but they are designed specifically for water from mines with spring water.

To facilitate the maintenance of the water intake system, independent drainage is provided in underground wells. It is needed to drain excess water naturally into the soil. It can also be used in work to determine deposits on the ground, as drainage.

How is the water intake installed?

A water intake unit is one of the first structures erected in populated areas during their planning. Despite the complexity and labor intensity of installation, on average, construction takes no more than 5-7 days, depending on the type of water intake structure.

Water collection equipment is installed in stages:

1. Conclusion of an agreement with agreed drilling conditions with a company providing these services;
2. Study of geological, hydrological and topographic factors of the area;
3. Involvement of special equipment;
4. Drilling the soil to the water source;
5. Laying of pipelines with installation of filters, viewing platforms and other modules stipulated by the contract;
6. Checking the quality of the obtained water in biochemical and mechanical examination;
7. Completion of work and transfer of the facility into operation.

Before the start of work, the parties to the contract agree and sign an estimate for all services rendered. The water intake is designed with details of the hydrological characteristics of the site, the exact design, safety measures during use and recommendations for monitoring the work.

The underground water intake station is installed in a separate pavilion building. Only specialists and authorized persons with health clearance have access to the equipment.

Ensuring the operation of water intake

Water intake maintenance can be carried out in a planned and unscheduled mode. Depending on this, a whole range of cleaning measures or only individual procedures are carried out.

Scheduled cleaning activities of the VZU are carried out as the generally established term comes into effect. It is calculated in years and depends on the type of station and relates individually to a specific module in the equipment.

The quality and regime of inspections are monitored by state health and environmental safety authorities in the relevant area. Optimal indicators of collected water are established in mandatory GOSTs and SNiPs.

Types of cleaning works for water intake maintenance:

• Cleaning from silt, ice, sand, shells — used for coastal surface stations;
• Underwater cleaning of filters and screens in coastal water collection structures;
• Cleaning with chlorine wells and communications intended for human consumption;
• Preventive maintenance and adjustment of circulating equipment at the station;
• Checking and adjusting the automation system;
• Replacing obsolete modules with new ones.

High-quality water supply is the key to normal human life in all areas. In order not to disturb the natural balance when using water, it is necessary to take a responsible attitude to sources of clean water and the mode of its consumption.