Blog

The common method of installing a flume is to encase it in concrete or an earthen channel.  Sometimes, though, flow needs to be measured where this just isn’t an option.  For these installations something else is needed:  a freestanding installation!…

The Cutthroat Flume is one of the more recent styles of flumes to be developed.  Development of what would become the Cutthroat flume began during the 1960’s at the Utah State Water Research Laboratory. The goal was to create a low cost flume to monitor surface water…

In the right applications, galvanized steel Parshall flumes can be a good choice to measuring the flow of water.  Irrigation and water rights applications (generally in the Intermountain Region of CO, UT, WY, MT, ID) were abrasive grit, stones, or debris are not present are…

In an earlier article we discussed the use of flat 45ª wing walls to transition flow into Parshall flumes.  The article focused on Blaisdell’s observation that a standing wave and wave trough were generated downstream of the intersection of the inlet 45ª…

While many flumes are grouted into place, a sizable number are also installed in earthen channels (furrows, irrigation ditches, creeks, etc.).  The traditional method of excavating the area, packing the earth, installing the flume, and then backfilling with the excavation…

People make mistakes.... The majority of errors in open channel flow measurement result from designers, installers, or operators - not from the equipment itself.  These errors result from a vareity of sources - from a lack to training to inattention to detail - and are…

For a Parshall flume to function correctly it is important that certain guidelines be followed when selecting a site and installing a flume.  In particular, the upstream conditions are of critical importance.  It is tempting to say that there just isn’t room to…

We see Parshall flumes at wastewater treatment plants monitoring sanitary flows so often that sometimes we forget the original reason that the Parshall flume was developed – to measure irrigation flows.  With 22 sizes available, Parshall flumes are capable of measuring…

One of the most common uses of flumes today is to measure sanitary flows; whether this is at an industrial discharge, mobile home park, resort, or wastewater treatment plant.  Unfortunately, flumes are often selected bsed solely on their ability to handle anticipated flows…