Altitude Valve Helps Prevent WW2-era Water Tower from Flooding Neighborhood

What the Client Needed

Eastville, Virginia, a small historic town with 315 residents, is home to a water tower built in the late 1930s, during the World War II era. Serving as one of the last Works Progress Administration (WPA) projects before steel was redirected for the war effort, the water tower faces a modern challenge. Lacking pressure monitoring, the town relied on pre-calibrated pressure switches and estimates to gauge the water level. Unfortunately, this method often led to switches falling out of calibration, causing overflow and flooding neighboring yards. and the Eastville Town Administrator, found himself positioned at the center of this issue and in need of a practical solution to help ensure reliable water management for the community.

Solution

The Watts LFM127 Altitude Valve with ACV Assure™ Monitoring System are designed to seamlessly work together in water distribution systems. The altitude valve regulates water flow into a reservoir or elevated storage tank, opening for tank fill and closing drip-tight at a specified high point. It also allows return flow (tank discharge) when upstream pressure falls below reservoir head pressure, controlling water levels by remotely sensing static tank head pressure through a field-installed line.

ACV Assure™ is an affordable monitoring solution from Watts for water utilities, enabling real-time monitoring of operations, pressure, flow, and loss. By registering the system, users receive instant text and email alerts for pressure or flow conditions and can set up geo-locations for effective system management. ACV Assure™ uses SentryPlus Alert® technology to continuously monitor water pressure and flow, providing insights into mission-critical operating conditions. This integrated approach allows users to make informed decisions, ensuring the efficient and reliable performance of their water distribution system.

Results

Since ground was broken in December 2023, the Town of Eastville, Virginia has experienced a seamless transition. The new system has proven to be highly effective, with no reported issues to date. The Eastville Town Administrator expressed satisfaction with the reliable and efficient water supply system, emphasizing that the project has been “as promised, as delivered,” contributing to the overall success of the initiative. He continued to say, “Spillage and overfilling the water tower is of grave concern to the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ). There is no way to calculate the loss from overflows so that is also why this is such an issue. The new altitude valve gives the Town of Eastville the control it needs to assure DEQ and our neighbors that the problem is solved on a long term basis.”