Case Study 03.2021

Henry County Water
Authority Ensures Water
Distribution Keeps Up With
Increasing Demand from aGrowing Population
Located just south of Atlanta, Henry County has watched its population increasesince the early 1990s. This in turn has increased the population that Henry County
Water Authority (HCWA) serves; according to Patrick Kelley, HCWA Project Manager,
the authority services between 240,000 and 250,000 people, with an average day
demand of 16 to 17 million gallons per day. During peak summertime periods, that
number can hit 30 million.
To address the growing populationand projected water demand overthe next 30 Years, HCWA recently
completed a master plan updatethat includes two booster pumpstations – the Fairview booster
pump station and the Southeastern
booster pump station.
Fairview Booster Pump Station
Due to the elevation, part of the area near theFairview booster pump station was being fed fromanother county. The water treatment plants are in thesouthern portion of the county, so it would take 30 to
40 miles of transmission to get to the higher-elevatednorthern portion.
Instead of installing additional transmission mains
and an elevated tank with booster pumps, the© 2021 Gorman-Rupp Pumps

Like all Gorman-Rupp packaged systems, theSoutheastern booster station was designed andtested in the Engineered Systems state-of-theart manufacturing facility prior to shipment.

1authority decided to go with a booster pump station
with emergency pressure reducing valves at theneighboring county. With the station boostingpressure from the southern part of the county to thenorth, HCWA is now able to provide its own water toall its customers.
In addition to enhancing the facility, HCWA wanted
to keep its neighbors in mind. The Fairview station islocated next to a school with commercial properties
and residential areas nearby. To make the station fit inwith the landscape, HCWA used a faux-brick exterior.
Utilizing an in-house design, a booster station package
by Gorman-Rupp was put together that included
pumps, controls and enclosures. Due to the packaging,not a lot of multidisciplinaires had to get involved.
After 18 months in operation, the station is working
24/7 without any reported issues. If a second or thirdpump needs to be kicked on, the station automaticallyhandles it. Kelley said being able to supply the areawith its own production variable rate instead of having
to pay a premium from another municipality will savemoney and is projected to recoup the cost of theproject within 5 years.

Southeastern Booster Pump Station
The primary purpose of the Southeastern booster
pump station will be to transfer water between
pressure zones. The pump station has 250 horsepowerpumps, which gives a lot more flow than the Fairview
station, which has 25 horsepower pumps. There are
currently two pumps planned, but there is a spot for athird pump when needed. This station boosts pressure
from the eastern portion of the county to the central
and western portions.
“To be able to get water out of one zone, which is at alower hydraulic grade line than the other, and be able
to pump to our larger zone was critical for redundancy
within the distribution system and future planning,”
Kelley said.
Compared to the Fairview station, which mostly2

operates on its own, the Southeastern station will be
more control-based. When planning the Southeasternstation, the HCWA looked to its other stations to see
what could be improved upon.
“What if we started running into problems, due to afailure? How do we get water out of that zone? What’s
our form of redundancy?” Kelley said.
With the projection of water demand doubling in size
over the next 30 years, Kelley predicts they will add thethird pump as that time gets nearer. At that point, theyplan to have one of the pumps running all the time.
The Southeastern station is in a more remote area
than the Fairview one with no commercial properties
around, and subdivisions a bit farther away. This station
was built with a high-ceiling split.

The Equipment
While updating the 30-year master plan, the initialthought was to use tanks, but after reviewing thehydraulic modeling, Kelley thought of the booster
pump stations.
HCWA turned to Gorman-Rupp for its pump andequipment needs. In addition to their long-standing
relationship, the third-party consultant for theSoutheastern station was able to see the booster
station concept on the Gorman-Rupp production
floor during a factory trip, which Gorman-Rupp offers
to potential customers.
With Gorman-Rupp being responsible for theFairview and Southeastern stations, they offereda 60-month warranty on the booster pumping
systems. Additionally, as a duplex/future triplex, theSoutheastern station has capacity for continued
growth in the county.
Allen Walker, sales engineer for Gorman-Rupp
distributor Templeton & Associates, said: “By sourcing
pumps from Patterson and then Gorman-Rupp
applying their other in-house components, enclosures,
engineering expertises, it pretty much made it easy to© 2014 ©
The
2021
Gorman-Rupp
Gorman-Rupp
CompanyPumpsput it all together and also make sure that the extended
warranties were basically kept under one roof.”

About Gorman-Rupp Pumps
For more than 85 years Gorman-Rupp Pumps USA
has manufactured pumps for municipal, sewage,
industrial, mining, construction, petroleum, OEM,
government, agriculture and fire markets.
The company’s extensive line of pump products
include self-priming centrifugal pumps, standard
centrifugal pumps, submersible pumps, rotary gearpumps, diaphragm pumps, engine-driven pumps,
and priming assist pumps. In addition, Gorman-Rupp
manufactures a complete line of state-of-the-artpackaged lift stations and booster stations that
include pumps, motors, controls, piping, accessories
and enclosures.
For more information, contact Cyndi Hoffner,Advertising Manager, Gorman-Rupp Pumps USA; 600
South Airport Road, Mansfield, OH 44903-7831; Phone:419-755-1011; email cyndi.hoffner@gormanrupp.com;
www.grpumps.com.

GORMAN-RUPP PUMPS | P.O. BOX 1217 | MANSFIELD, OHIO 44901-1217 | USA | 419.755.1011 | GRSALES@GORMANRUPP.COM | GRPUMPS.COM23© 2014 ©
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Gorman-Rupp
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