City of Pendleton installs electromagnetic flowmeter for utility water application

Unrestricted mounting flowmeter improves process for wastewater facility

Set along the foothills of the Blue Mountains, on either side of the Umatilla River, is the “True West” city of Pendleton, Oregon. Just along the Umatilla riverbed is the City of Pendleton’s Wastewater Treatment Resource Recovery Facility (WWTRRF) which serves a population of 17,000 people and treats roughly 2.5 million gallons of water per day (GPD).

Like all wastewater treatment facilities, the City of Pendleton WWTRRF faces the daily challenge of maintaining water safety and quality for the city while improving energy consumption and meeting city, state, and national regulations. With reliable measurement, technicians can better control the process, make better decisions, implement predictive maintenance, and save both money and energy.

Facing flow measurement challenges due to mounting limitations

Before implementing the Promag W 0xDN, the City of Pendleton wastewater treatment facility was unable to obtain flow measurements for process water used within the facility. They were estimating the flow rate and amount of water coming through but were not able to get exact numbers. This was a difficult spot for a flowmeter because there was not a sufficient straight run — instead, the flow runs vertical through a 90-degree elbow then connects to a full port valve. Typically, electromagnetic flowmeters require straight pipe run of 3-5 pipe diameters upstream of the meter and 1-2 diameters downstream of the meter. Because of the limited space, it also wasn’t an option to increase the pipe run. The other possibility would be to install an electromagnetic reduced bore flowmeter; however, these meters create a pressure drop resulting in higher energy costs and lower plant efficiency.

Finding a solution with unrestricted mounting flowmeter

Kyle Willman, the WWTRRF lead technician, attended an Endress+Hauser online seminar where the subject matter experts discussed the full bore, unrestricted mounting Promag W 0xDN. Kyle Willman reached out to Cameron Bachman with Field Instruments and Controls, the local Endress+Hauser sales and service representative, to learn more about the electromagnetic flowmeter capabilities.

The electronic flowmeter was easily installed without having to rip up sections of piping to extend the lay length, saving the city in additional installation costs. With the ability to retrieve accurate data regardless of flow profile and flow rate, the City of Pendleton Wastewater Treatment Resource Recovery Facility can operate at a higher efficiency and lower cost.

“This wasn’t an ideal placement for a flowmeter before, so they were having to estimate the flowrate. But having a steady flow helps technicians make better decisions.” said Cameron Bachman, “Better flow, better decisions.”

Lead Technician Kyle Willman, City of Pendleton, OR Wastewater Treatment Resource Recovery Facility

With the addition of the Promag, the city can collect live data and totalize the flow over a 24-hour period. This helps identify problems like leaks or open valves much quicker which reduces water waste. Before the Promag, it was hard to catch a leak until thousands of gallons of water had already been lost. It would take longer to notice the problem and longer to identify the solution.

Trending the data also enables technicians to run predictive modeling to prevent problems before they occur. This further minimizes energy and water loss and allows the plant to operate at a higher level of safety, efficiency, and overall plant performance.