For Water Utilities, Westfall’s High-Performance Flow Straightener Generates Improved Billing Accuracy And Reassures Customers

17 January, 2017

Westfall Model 3000 Flow Conditioner

Flow Straightener Model 3000                 Fin-like mixing vanes create vortices to gently blend the incoming flow of water. Then wing-shaped vanes flatten the vortices into a straightened or conditioned outflow for a fully developed velocity profile with minimal headloss in less than 8 pipe diameters.

In parts of the world where water is rationed, savvy customers want to know they’re getting every drop they pay for. If the water utility can’t prove their billing is accurate, they may face volatile public meetings like a customer in the southwestern US did.

The problem was real: if water flowing into the meters was disturbed by swirl or turbulence from pipe bends or uneven pressure, meter readings could be inaccurate. Customers wanted reassurance from their utility company.

The utility took two steps to resolve the problem.

First, they brought Westfall’s CEO, Bob Glanville, to their next planning meeting. By showing graphic illustrations of test results from Alden Laboratories, he proved that the installation of a Flow Straightener would provide the flow meter measurement accuracy these customers sought.

Second, the utility installed Westfall’s Flow Straightener Model 3000. As a result, water flowing into

Westfall Model 3000 Flow Conditioner

24″ Flow Conditioner Model 3000 prepared for an installation in Texas. View from the downstream end shows the wing-shaped vanes first, followed by the fin-shaped vanes.

their metering device was free of swirl and turbulence, and had a fully developed velocity profile well before it reached the flow meter.

The water utility now installs Flow Straightener Model 3000 at metering points throughout its distribution network. Customers were reassured that the water for which they were billed actually matched the water they received.

According to Bob Glanville, CEO of Westfall Manufacturing, Inc. “This is an easy infrastructure upgrade for water utilities to install, and a smart one to improve their billing accuracy and customer satisfaction.”