Method for utilizing multiple simultaneous independent sources of water in a cooling tower

1 . A cooling tower system, comprising:

a cooling tower;

at least two make-up water conduits configured to supply make-up water from at least two make-up water inlet streams to cooling water within the cooling tower;

a blowdown stream configured to remove cooling water from the cooling tower;

at least one sensor monitoring water in each of the at least two make-up water inlet streams; and

a controller operably connected to the at least one sensor in each of the at least two make-up water inlet streams;

wherein the controller is configured to:

receive data from the at least one sensor in each of the at least two make-up water inlet streams,

create a virtual make-up stream, which is a mixed stream of the at least two make-up water inlet streams, from the data received from the at least one sensor in each of the at least two make-up water inlet streams, and

control dosage of chemical additives to cooling water and blowdown flow rates from the cooling tower based on predicted flow rate and conductivity of the virtual make-up stream.

2 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the at least two make-up water inlet streams comprises three make-up water inlet streams.

3 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the at least two make-up water conduits are connected to a pipe that is connected to the cooling tower, and the pipe carries make-up water from the at least two make-up water inlet streams into the cooling tower.

4 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the at least one sensor in each of the at least two make-up water inlet streams is a conductivity sensor.

5 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the at least one sensor in each of the at least two make-up water inlet streams is a flow sensor.

6 . The system of claim 1 , wherein each make-up water inlet stream is monitored by at least two sensors, and wherein the at least two sensors comprise a conductivity sensor and a flow sensor.

7 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the controller stores a conductivity set-point.

8 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the system does not include a make-up water holding tank configured to supply make-up water to the cooling tower.

9 . The system of claim 1 , further comprising one or more chemical injection pumps configured to inject a chemical additive into the make-up water.

10 . The system of claim 9 , further comprising a distributed control system operably connected to the controller and configured to manipulate the one or more chemical injection pumps.

11 . The system of claim 9 , wherein the chemical additive is injected into the cooling tower.

12 . The system of claim 9 , wherein the chemical additive is selected from the group consisting of a scale inhibitor, a corrosion inhibitor, a biocide, a dispersant, and any combination thereof.

13 . A cooling tower system, comprising:

a cooling tower;

at least two make-up water conduits connected to a pipe configured to supply make-up water from at least two make-up water inlet streams to cooling water within the cooling tower;

a blowdown stream configured to remove cooling water from the cooling tower;

a conductivity sensor and a flow sensor monitoring water in each of the at least two make-up water inlet streams; and

a controller operably connected to the conductivity sensor and the flow sensor;

wherein the controller is configured to:

receive data from conductivity sensor and the flow sensor,

create a virtual make-up stream, which is a mixed stream of the at least two make-up water inlet streams, from the data received from the conductivity sensor and the flow sensor, and

control dosage of chemical additives to cooling water and blowdown flow rates from the cooling tower based on predicted flow rate and conductivity of the virtual make-up stream.

14 . The system of claim 13 , wherein the at least two make-up water inlet streams comprises three make-up water inlet streams.

15 . The system of claim 13 , further comprising one or more chemical injection pumps configured to inject a chemical additive into the make-up water.

16 . The system of claim 15 , further comprising a distributed control system operably connected to the controller and configured to manipulate the one or more chemical injection pumps.