Hydrant Guard Success Story: Walnut Valley Water District, Part 2
Read Part 1 of the Walnut Valley story here.
Walnut Valley Water District (WVWD) has been serving their community in Southern California for over 70 years. From a humble start managing groundwater connections for less than 1000 residents, to serving over 100,000 today, WVWD has continuously expanded their infrastructure to keep pace with the growing population. Today, they boast 500 miles of distribution mains, 31 reservoirs, 17 pump plants, and nearly 100,000,000 gallons of storage capacity.
Still, a first-class distribution network means nothing if there isn’t enough water coming down the pipes. In drought-prone California, water conservation is more than just a catchphrase: it’s a necessity for forward-thinking water districts. Determined not to let opportunities for improvement wash by, WVWD is constantly combing the marketplace for new technology.
This modernizing process is powered by Walnut Valley’s Materials’ Committee, presided over by diverse water professionals, from engineers to operations experts and procurement professionals. The Committee must approve any new device for evaluation. It’s then measured against similar products on the basis of cost and quality. Finally, it’s put to the test: “Before Hydrant Guard, we never even talked about breakaway check valves, let alone set a plan to test them. And then we saw Hydrant Guard. We could immediately see how robust it was and that it would last a really long time in service” says Teo Pasillas, WVWD operations manager, “so we had to test it.”
For the Committee, every new device is “inadequate until proven otherwise.” Needing to be sure there would be minimal flow restriction on Hydrant Guarded hydrants and that our valves would be compatible with their district’s infrastructure, WVWD set up their own testing facility: “After tons of rounds of different scenarios, there were no major compatibility issues and we consistently saw a minimal flow difference, so the Committee gave the green light.” WVWD deployed Hydrant Guard right away across their territory, installing 44 units in a new business center alone.
Looking toward the future of water conservation, safety and cost savings, Walnut Valley Water District added Hydrant Guard to their spec in 2023. After putting our products to the test, we’re proud to say that WVWD has made a decision to trust Hydrant Guard break-off check valves now and in the future.
We encourage other water districts to follow Walnut Valley’s exemplary lead: put Hydrant Guard to the test. Whatever your due diligence process, the HG team is ready to support you along the way.
