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The Board of Water Commissioners of the City of Detroit anticipated the need of increasing the water-supply facilities for the city nearly 20 years ago and in the year 1919 ordered that engineering studies be made. As a result of these studies an additional water-supply system was authorized in 1924 at an estimated cost of $30,000,000. The project included a new river intake of 940 million gallons daily capacity, tunnels in sizes of 12 ft to 15½ ft diameter, about 12 miles long, a new pumping plant for 400 million gallons daily, filtration plant, and 16,500-kw steam-operated power plant. The new works were substantially completed in 1931 and placed in partial operation, but due to the depression, the plant was not placed in continuous service until 1935. This paper discusses the various problems and engineering studies made in connection with the design and construction of a large modern water-works plant, with especial reference to the hydraulic and mechanical features of the pumping plant and the mechanical and electrical characteristics of the steam-operated power plant. The pumping plant consists of raw-water pumps for delivering river water from the intake and tunnel system to the filter plant and also the filtered-water pumps to force water supply to the city distribution system. All pumps are housed in one building about 400 ft long by 100 ft wide. There are 26 centrifugal pumps varying in size from 7 to 60 million gallons daily each. The pumps are driven by synchronous and induction motors. Power for the pump motors is produced in a steam turbogenerator plant, exclusive of a small portion that is secured from a central-station source. The power plant is adjacent to the pumping plant and consists of two 5000-kw and three 500-kw steam turbogenerators, two 90,000-lb per hr steam boilers and related equipment, together with a 5000-kw transformer for central-station power. This paper deals with purchase of pumping and power-plant equipment secured in competitive bidding, with some of the major equipment secured on evaluated bids and with bonuses and penalties applied to contractor’s guarantees. The paper also outlines the results of field acceptance tests for pumps, turbines, and boilers and gives the resulting bonuses and penalties applied to the various contracts. The paper also discusses the general plant-operating economies for a one-year period.

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