Home Work Assignment #3

The world’s largest water lift, the Edmonston Pumping Plant located at the northern edge of the Tehachapi Mountains, delivers as much as 2.5 million acre-feet (per year) of water to 13 Southern California water contractors / districts. Through this process, the Edmonston plant consumes 40 percent of all electricity used by the State Water Project, making it the project’s biggest user of electric power.

To deliver the water, fourteen pumps lift the water 2,000 feet at a maximum flow rate of 10,000 acre-feet per day to a gravity transfer station reservoir at the top of the mountain, where it is split into two aqueducts that serve Southern California. Water from the West Branch Aqueduct is stored in Pyramid Lake and Castaic Lake for distribution to Los Angeles and surrounding cities. The East Branch Aqueduct passes through Palmdale and Lancaster, and stores water in Silverwood Lake and Lake Perris for distribution to Inland Empire cities such as San Bernardino and Riverside.

Assuming that each motor / pump combination operates at 65% total efficiency at full load, and there is an assumed 2% fluid flow total energy loss to friction (h_L) of the water flow through the piping from suction reservoir to mountain top discharge reservoir.

Determine the maximum power demand in kW of the plant while at full flow capacity.

Use the energy equation below and show your work.

P₁/Ƴ    +   v₁²/ 2g   +   Z₁   +  h_p   =   P₂ /Ƴ   +   v₂²/ 2g  +   Z₂    +   h_T  +  h_L