Raw water main flow conditioning to manage material load and treatment capacity

A water treatment works in the UK endured elevated inlet turbidity and iron concentrations following increased demands in the raw water supply main, reducing its capacity by blocking filters that required costly extra cleaning. Adding flow and turbidity monitoring allowed novel raw water main variable condition discolouration model (VCDM) simulations to track the accumulation and mobilisation behaviour, showing the full 18.7 km contributing material and risk returning in only 2 months, helping explain the multiple annual events. The utility is now applying operational efficient flow conditioning, developed here using the VCDM, to manage risks and capacity.