The movie and sports term has infiltrated the business world and has important implications for the water/wastewater industry.
Water utilities with highly successful monitoring programs tend to share a common trait: they have a well-defined plan for calibration that emphasizes frequency and tracking. However, when done properly, this process is time-consuming and often leads to unnecessary labor and downtime. The good news is that advanced metering technology is available for plants to get a better handle on the instrument’s performance with significantly less effort.
When water and wastewater plant operators can’t get accurate flow measurements or analytical readings — or lack confidence in their instruments’ readings — it creates challenges with the process. When substandard water goes to homes and causes a boil order, or discharge pollutes a lake or reservoir, the resulting bad press, fines, and potential lawsuits erode public confidence. Avoiding these kinds of problems is rooted in good preventive maintenance habits.
Water and wastewater utility operators work diligently to operate within strict guidelines, ensuring their facilities are producing the best drinking water and highest quality effluent possible. Despite all their efforts, however, it can be easy to fall outside of regulatory compliance without even being aware. The key to avoiding problems like these is to understand how silent noncompliance can happen and knowing when to raise a red flag.
In 2010, Shelby County Water Services (SCWS) was planning for the future. With new regulations on the horizon, SCWS determined that the Talladega/Shelby water treatment plant in Shelby County, AL, needed more effective removal of disinfection byproducts (DBPs). Specifically, the treatment plant needed help complying with the U.S. EPA’s new Stage 2 Disinfection Byproduct Rule (DBPR).
With the ongoing concern about water quality in Alaska, Philip Downing, the Remote Maintenance Worker for South East Alaska Regional Health Consortium, offered a new approach to a plant’s ability to continuously monitor and adjust treatment processes in response to changes in raw water quality.
A case of legionellosis — an illness acquired from Legionella bacteria, which can grow in cooling water and potable water systems — was diagnosed at a medical retirement home.
A municipal wastewater treatment plant investigated a sudden increase in fecal coliform exceedance events.
It’s important to start with the fact that this is not a regulatory test. This technology won’t replace any required compliance tests and the results are not reportable, which is actually a great benefit to our users. While regulatory testing is important, compliant does not necessarily mean clean.
The Clarity II turbidimeter is intended for the determination of turbidity in water. Low NTU measurement capability, efficient bubble rejection, and easy calibration make Clarity II ideal for monitoring the turbidity of filtered drinking water
Endress+Hauser launched E-direct, an online store that allows customers to easily and securely order high quality measurement products at competitive prices.
With an easily scalable solution the 182, 182 XT, and 182 XT-4 allow for the connection of 1-4 sensors depending on which terminal you choose. Add sensors at any time and at any location or change them out with ease.
The best systems are ones that are not just effective by design; importantly, they are employed to optimal effect. When it comes to treatment plant instrumentation and automation, it's essential that the volumes of data collected throughout the treatment process are easily understood and acted upon. In this video, Jack Roushey, Marketing Manager for the Flow Division of Siemens Process Instrumentation, talks about how Siemens addresses these challenges through their portfolio of process measurement and analytics systems. He discusses the advantages of digitalization, including digital twin technology, and how smart instruments can be leveraged to solve some of the industry's highest-level concerns, such as water quality and resiliency, while making it more simple than ever for operators.
