Illinois Water Treatment Plant Found Plenty Of Reasons To Switch Actuators

A plant commissioned in 2019 should not be rebuilding its valve infrastructure a few years later. This Illinois facility, with six gravity sand filters and roughly 30 automated valve applications, selected its original electric actuators as the lowest bid. By 2021, overheating, motor burnout, and premature gear wear were recurring problems, and the spare units meant to cover a full filter were gone within five years. The story turns on a conference conversation, an on-site demonstration, and a filter that happened to be out of service at the right moment. What followed was a decision to stop replacing failures with the same technology. The analysis weighs purchase price against the costs that repeated failures create, from labor to downtime. Explore the case study to see how the plant approached the evaluation and where it stands now.