Site Water System

BNL has a combination domestic and fire protection water supply system. The system is supplied by several deep wells and is stabilized by two elevated water storage tanks (one 1 million gallon and 350,000 gallon capacity). The wells have electric primary drivers and a limited number have backup internal combustion drivers. The system can sustain three days of domestic supply and a maximum fire demand (4000 GPM for 4 hours) for BNL with two of the system's largest pumps out and one storage tank unavailable. The piping distribution network is well gridded.

Fire hydrants are provided within 300 ft. of each facility (there are some exceptions). Frost proof hydrants are needed since the frost line extends to 4 feet below the surface in the winter. BNL and the local Suffolk County Fire Departments use National Standard Thread couplings.

BNL's Plant Engineering Division maintains the water supply system. BNL's Fire/Rescue Group conducts valve inspections and hydrant inspection/flushing on the distribution system to ensure reliability water supplies for firefighting.

Study Information

• 2003 Site Water System Analysis - A PDF document presenting the past five years of water flow tests on the system, comparing supplies to demands and risks, and summarizing issues related to system function.
• 2004 Site Water System Computer Analysis Overview - A PDF document  containing a PowerPoint presentation summarizing the assumptions and results from a computer program used to analyze the water supply network. 
• 2004 Site Water System Model - A PDF file showing the output from the computer model.  The water system network shows the expected flow hydrants with a 20 PSI residual pressure with all valves open and all supplies normal.  Alternate analysis outputs are available showing other running conditions. 
• 2005 Site Water System Analysis - A PDF document presenting the past five years of water flow tests on the system, comparing supplies to demands and risks, and summarizing issues related to system function.

Contact fire@bnl.gov for more information.

Last Modified: February 1, 2008
Please forward all questions about this site to: Joseph Levesque

One of ten national laboratories overseen and primarily funded by the Office of Science of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), Brookhaven National Laboratory conducts research in the physical, biomedical, and environmental sciences, as well as in energy technologies and national security. Brookhaven Lab also builds and operates major scientific facilities available to university, industry and government researchers. Brookhaven is operated and managed for DOE’s Office of Science by Brookhaven Science Associates, a limited-liability company founded by Stony Brook University, the largest academic user of Laboratory facilities, and Battelle, a nonprofit, applied science and technology organization.

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