How an aftermarket pump rebuilder joined a California county to engineer a cost-effective upgrade.
Hydro, Inc.
08/29/2018
Many factors, including design and terrain, affect the efficiency and lifespan of any pumping system.
For the West Coast of the United States, most residents face issues from catastrophic heat waves and droughts that plague one of the region’s biggest industries: agriculture.
It is said that California accounts for almost half of the country’s fresh produce and crops, with approximately 50 billion in products per year through the state and another 50 billion in ancillary products, according to the
Orange County Register
and
The Washington Post
. California clearly depends on agriculture, which means the risks and consequences that come with being in a semi-arid desert environment only grow greater.
Image 1. The precision engineering and hand machining of this vane is a work in progress. (Images courtesy of Hydro, Inc.)
When Water Is Scarce
Farmland is decimated at every turn. Fruit groves turn into dry, brittle wood piles while farmers abandon their land as once fertile soil becomes acres of desert. In cities, the fear of biohazards inch ever closer with the water supply dwindling. Public service announcements encouraged citizens daily to work harder to conserve. Still, about 30 dams and reservoirs have been emptied or drained, reaching almost 100 billion gallons of water lost, per www.Archive.org. Add in the additional losses to economic movement from wasted potential labor, livelihood and the estimated losses in the industry at minimum is within hundreds of millions, with the predicted worst-case scenario one in the billions, says the Los Angeles Times . Though occasional rainfall helps, the state is still lacking water resources. State officials estimate that 80 percent of all water resources are used for agriculture, per The Washington Post . So, groundwater inevitably plays an important role. Devising ways to bring water to the community from rivers, valleys and reservoirs becomes tantamount to survival. Agricultural pumps are also seldom considered as one of the main runners of the pump industry. California’s industry means that counties’ pumps posed a special exception to the norm when it came to management, repair and replacement.
Image 2. A finished axial propeller and cone.