A theme park located in the southeastern U.S. was managing a large decorative water feature through ORP control and daily testing. Effectively controlling free halogen and pH in large volume systems with various turnover rates can cause varying free oxidant levels throughout the day, requiring frequent manual testing. The testing often showed poor results and inconsistent chemical usage, even with ORP control. The park was in need of a personalized automation system to control, monitor and manage its water features with minimal manpower requirements.
Water features can range in system volumes of 1000 to 1 million gallons of water a day with various turnover rates. Controlling the chemistry in a system that size can be very complex. Too high of a treatment dose can cause odor problems and excess chemical costs, while too low of dose can result in algae growth which reduces the quality of the water feature’s visual effects. The park’s past relationships with U.S. Water created an opportunity for representatives to audit the system and present a competitive solution.
U.S. Water’s automation team worked closely with the group to design a custom automation solution to manage both ORP and free halogen control. Developing this integrated system took a thorough understanding of the park’s needs, the water features, and their turnover rates.
Easily accessible through wireless internet connection, the system allows park personnel to remotely access the controller and download data to U.S. Water ReportsTM. Daily dashboards are also delivered directly to park personnel, allowing data to be reviewed quickly so chemistry modifications can be made to maintain steady halogen and pH levels throughout the water feature. Additional chemical feed points, probes and chemical pumps were installed to manage the chemical feed, collect data and monitor the system.
The water features stabilized quickly following the installation of the automation system with steady clarity and halogen levels. The chemical usage and manpower required to maintain the system is minimal. There is no longer a need for daily operator testing as all testing is done through the probes and managed through U.S. Water Reports. Weekly testing is conducted by U.S. Water representatives to calibrate and ensure all equipment is working effectively and daily dashboards are used to monitor the system.