If your flowmeter is costing you time and money—and that all adds up to real operational headaches—then you might want to hear what four McCrometer customers who installed the FPI Mag flowmeter have to say about this problem-solving flow instrument.
Davidson Water—Lexington, N.C.
Davidson Water Inc., has a plant capacity of 20 mgd. The company was experiencing problems with unaccounted water loss and needed a highly accurate flow measurement solution to assist with non-revenue water tracking and leak auditing. Since 14 FPI Mag meters were installed to address this issue, non-revenue water loss has decreased from 16.7 to 13%. Managers are confident that water loss will continue to decrease as more FPI Mag meters are brought into full production.
“Having all 14 units on the same meter platform with the same accuracy allows Davidson to easily collect and compare data across their system,” said Dale Draughn, cross-connection control coordinator. “The FPI Mag flowmeters are allowing us to pinpoint pressure zones with issues. Once we know we have an issue, we can break it into subzones and start a rapid street-by-street investigation.”
City of Cedar Rapids Water Division—Cedar Rapids, Iowa
The City of Cedar Rapids Water Division has more than 50,000 metered accounts—including residential, commercial and industrial—and serves a population base of around 128,000 people. The city had been using clamp-on ultrasonic flowmeters that were underperforming, susceptible to electrical and radio frequency interference and maintenance-intensive. After more than two years in operation, McCrometer’s FPI-XTM Mag meters have greatly improved accuracy and nearly eliminated maintenance problems that are experienced with the strap-on ultrasonic flowmeters.
“We spent some time looking closely at various flowmeters, and the FPI-X Mag’s track record is outstanding as compared to previous meters,” said Brian Jess, instrument technician. “The FPI-X Mag is reliable for operations staff, its maintenance is next to nil, it’s easy to take out if needed—overall, you could say I’m ecstatic with the product.”
Seattle Public Utilities—Seattle
Seattle’s Cedar Water Treatment Facility provides 70% of the metropolitan area’s drinking water and can treat up to 180 mgd of water. The facility features an advanced ozone/ultraviolet (UV) treatment process that disinfects the water and improves taste and odor. Designed, built and operated by CH2M Hill, the facility is a model for sustainable environmental design. Accurate flow measurement on the UV disinfection system was challenging, and it resulted in design upgrades to the FPI Mag flowmeter.
“McCrometer stood behind the product and invested in R&D to make improvements,” said Cedar Water Treatment Facility Operations Manager John Wesely. “McCrometer certainly exceeds the standards of most vendors, and it was refreshing to see how they stood behind its product. I would certainly do business again with McCrometer.”
Ashley Valley Water & Sewer Improvement District—Vernal, Utah
The Ashley Valley Water & Sewer Improvement District can process up to 8 mgd of raw water. If the plant exceeds its water share allocation, the district is forced to purchase water at a more expensive rate. The plant selected the FPI Mag flowmeter for installation because of its accurate performance, easy hot-tap installation and low maintenance.
“The flowmeter has performed as well as advertised, and the install process was as easy as we were told,” said Ryan Goodrich, Ashley Valley assistant manager. “We have been very impressed with the whole process, from ordering to installation.”