If you’re water management operation is like many across the country, you’ve probably combined your flow measurement tool with a stilling well. Whether your system is based around flumes or weirs, using a stilling well can give you an easy measurement point and a more accurate view of the flow rate and water level within your system.
However, when the water level in your system rapidly falls or rises, it can lead to a phenomenon known as stilling well lag. When stilling well lag occurs, it can wreak havoc on the accuracy of your measurements, both instantly and in the future. Fortunately, this lag can be prevented with the right strategy. Here are a few tips for preventing stilling well lag and information about equipping your operation with the right tools from the right manufacturer.
Pick the Right Location
Like most water management tools, getting the most out of your stilling well requires picking the right installation point. This is particularly important for applications where stilling well lag is a major concern. If you want to minimize the risk of stilling well lag as much as possible, you should install your stilling well as close to the channel to be measured as possible.
Installing your stilling well close to the measured channel will reduce the effect of rapid water level changes, and can help you preserve the accuracy of your measurements. Whether you use flumes or weirs, you will generally install your stilling well directly beside your primary measurement device.
Improving Intake
One of the main culprits behind stilling well lag is a lack of intake into the well. When your intake is low, it means water isn’t flowing in and out of your stilling well as easily as it should. As you might imagine, this can tremendously limit the accuracy of your measurements. Fortunately, there are two very effective ways to improve intake and fight the chance that your system will experience stilling well lag.
The first way that you can improve your stilling well intake is to add additional intake valves. This will make it more likely that your stilling well levels will more accurately reflect the levels in your flume or weir and will lower your chances for lag. However, if you use a short-throated flume, adding extra intake ports will usually not be an option.
If adding extra intake ports isn’t a possibility, another option is to increase the size of your intake line. This serves two important purposes. First, it allows water to flow into and out of your well more easily. Secondly, it decreases the chances that your intake line will experience clogs.
Preventing Stilling Well Lags with the Right Tools
If you want to make sure that your secondary measurements are as accurate as possible, you need to prevent stilling well lag in whatever way you can. Fortunately, preventing stilling well lag is easy when you have the right tools, like the kind you’ll find by working with Tracom, FRP.
Tracom is proud to provide all the tools your operation needs for consistent success, including flumes, weirs and stilling wells. Ask us about our catalogue today and how we can help you find the water management tools that you need.
