Houston, Texas, February 25, 2003 -- Like most communities across America, the Coachella Valley region of California (near Palm Springs) puts the safety of its citizens first.
With a population of about 100,000, Coachella Valley gets all of its potable water from 100 ground wells across the community. Some of these wells are located in public areas - so the risks associated with chlorine gas can result in a deadly situation.
Six years ago, Coachella Valley decided to look at other alternatives. According to Mike Herrera, the Coachella Valley Water District's domestic water maintenance supervisor, the water district began the process of onsite generation of sodium hypochlorite - or dry chlorine tablets. And while they have 30 onsite generation units today, Herrera admits this system puts a real drain on manpower.
"Onsite generation is very time consuming," says Herrera. "Various components have to come together to make the right amount of chlorine. If something goes wrong, somebody has to go out there and make it right. It's very labor intensive."
In an effort to refine and improve its water chlorination process, the Coachella Valley Water District purchased a water chlorination system from The Hammonds Companies. Today, the Coachella Valley Water District has seven Hammonds units in place and another 12 to 15 units on order. Herrera says the improvement is noticeable.
"With the Hammonds unit, there is little labor cost, it's easy to use and it comes as a self-contained unit," says Herrera. "You basically take it out of a box, set it up and start it."
In the future, Herrera says he will continue to look for alternatives to chlorine gas for the remaining wells and that the Hammonds system appears to be a viable alternative.
About Hammonds
Founded in 1982 by Carl Hammonds, The Hammonds Companies pioneered the concept of tablet water chlorination systems, considered significantly safer, more efficient, and more dependable than any other chlorination system on the market.
In addition, Hammonds is a manufacturer of fuel additives and additive injection equipment serving the aviation, trucking, petroleum, and marine industries worldwide. Hammonds is based in Houston, Texas. Information: www.waterchlorination.com.
