Tag: hydropower

“the Houston Water Pull”

(repost from Twitter/X)

Boosting this in a regular way for people to refer to. I’m not looking for money on this. This is goodwill during a time of crises. Actually, stood with adults a long time ago, perhaps even in Houston, Texas, U.S.A. after a big rainstorm and witnessed the waters everywhere. Told as a child, too much trouble to develop a system even though we tossed around legitimate ideas. Realize now, I was with people NOT ENTIRELY WELCOME THERE. Since that time I have visited Houston, mostly flying or driving through. It is a beautiful city!

Openly bringing this up for all to think about, maybe develop a better idea than me!

The Houston Water Pull

brief digital sketch illustration showing source water, pullpump tower and direction of flow to a new reservoir.

This idea is to use a very tall tower with a pump to pull water from a source area and up high enough to create a siphon effect on the other side such that once started, the pull of the water can continue without the pump running. This could be built in a series of pump towers to pull water across a long distance. There is an opportunity to even utilize the reservoirs as a source for a water purifier system. There is also a possibility the high pressure flow of the downhill water could be partially used for hydropower generation or other machinery–even creating a push-pump to increase speed and pressure of the water flow to help it go further.

I cannot make money off this system. I don’t think the idea is original. Just bringing it up for conversation. As I write this, Houston, Texas, U.S.A. is very flooded from Hurrican Beryl. If this system is created elsewhere, it could move water out of a flooded areas to dry areas that do not have a connection to a river.

The reference of “Thanks Houston for not mrdring me,” in the illustration above comes from one of my first visits in life to the city. I was mis-identified as a dangerous gang member!

Adding: Turbulent has a small system for hydropower–in mind. I have no verification they actually produce these units and sell them. Just another idea to chat about?

https://www.thecivilengineer.org/news/special-hydropower-plant-can-be-deployed-in-a-week-and-could-power-up-to-60-homes

Waters that Power Us at Glen Canyon Dam

Scroll down for image and link to the L.A. Times article that inspired this post.

What about taking the opportunity to update the systems themselves? Improved engineering, more power from less water flow. I’m NOT an engineer, but I am willing to take a guess that smaller hydropower tunnels and lighter weight machinery could allow more VOLTS generated even using a small stream of water? Here is my theory… keep more water behind the dam, send LESS through the power generators. Actually, if you create venturi effects, less water could move through with MORE FORCE and HIGHER SPEEDS, right? What about some way(like specific paths through the dam) to cause the waters to accelerate? As for the electricity itself, where is our semi-conductor technology for “gathering and boosting lower to higher voltages” Does Elon Musk’s TESLA have any cool tech that can be used here? Separately what about the up and coming “3D printing for building construction” to assist in repairing any cement/stonework? I love speculating ideas on such an iconic structure. =)

I’ve got a dumb question, since I didn’t get to take physics in high school… if you cause the water itself to be MORE DENSE(colder?)… does this improve or take away from the efficiency of the power generation machinery?

I’ll take it up another notch in thinking. WHAT IF..? A whole NEW design allowed for perpetual motion of the generators and only a fraction of the water is needed to just boost it now and then keep up the speed as needed? The concept is like winding up a clock, and also counter balancing. In other words, some of the power could be returned to the machinery to make it more efficient when the water volume is turned lower? Maybe it is already there and I just don’t recall. I am not a regular student of this kind of thing. Also, I am not sure anyone has tried this idea… using the water itself to also create air compression that can be stored and re-injected with the water stream to boost generator speeds as needed. Or remove the compressed air boost to slow the generators. Doing this may help temper fluctuations in the generators’ speeds and from what I do know about cars we drive, machinery lasts longer when used at regulated and less variable RPMs.

As the Colorado River shrinks, federal officials consider overhauling Glen Canyon Dam

With the reservoir now just 32 feet away from “minimum power pool” — the point at which Glen Canyon Dam would no longer generate power for six states — federal officials are studying the possibility of overhauling the dam so that it can continue to generate electricity and release water at critically low levels.

Read this article on MSN.com by the L.A. Times.