For the most part I use this blog to explain what my company and others have found in potable water storage tanks and towers and why it is important to inspect and clean them.  This blog is more educational than commercial.  I believe that additional regulation would greatly improve the quality of stored water in America.  Many states have no regulation requiring inspection or cleaning of water storage facilities.  Regulations would make it easier for utility managers to get the funding they need to keep their storage tanks cleaner and therefore healthier.

This post in particular is political, due to the sour political climate in Washington D.C.   Extreme right wing republicans which seems to describe most of them these days are not only against making new regulations they actually want to roll back the ones we have, some want to destroy the EPA and OSHA all together.

This isn’t your grandfathers republican party,  hell, it isn’t even your fathers republican party. Could a Republican start an agency like the EPA or OSHA today?  The EPA and OSHA were great ideas and enacted by Republican President Richard Nixon.  They were a great ideal and over time they have proven to be functional to their designed purpose.   They work.

Before the EPA and the Clean Water Act of 1972, we had clean water laws, but they weren’t very effective. The federal government had little authority. Now we have less pollution in our waterways and safer water to drink but many in congress want to gut the EPA some Republicans are even focused on the Clean Water Act itself. Last July the House of Representatives was considering a measure  (H.R. 2018). This bill keeps pooping up like a bad penny. If Passed it reduces the authority of the EPA to enforce the Clean Water Act, allowing States to make their own standards and easily slip back into giving a pass to big business that are both big polluters and big champaign contributors.  The EPA has a job to do and they have been doing it.  Water is better but there is still work to do, this is not the time to take the teeth out of good regulations that have been proven to work.

The “Tea Party” republicans and others want to blame a poor economy on too much regulation.  They see this as a chance to gut not only the EPA but to destroy or greatly reduce the size and effectiveness of OSHA as well.  The fact is regulations create jobs, improve work environments and help to keep everyone safer and healthier.  What they also do is cost the top political contributors in this country a few percent of their profit.  You do not need to be a rocket scientist to figure out why some politicians are going after regulations and who they are really working for. Regulations Benefit the people.  This country is a better place to live with the Clean Water Act and that is just the simple truth of it.  Its time to take action,  REGARDLESS of what side of the political fence you stand on reducing the authority of the EPA, rolling back and reversing the Clean Water Act of 1972 is JUST WRONG.   Take a few minutes to send an email, fax or leave a phone message –  Tell your legislators to keep their hands off the Clean Water Act and KILL   H.R. 2018 or any mutated variation of it.

Write Your Representative, Find them HERE:   https://writerep.house.gov/writerep/welcome.shtml

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On 9-5-2011  Robert F. Kennedy Jr. posted:

An Assault on Clean Water and Democracy

The House of Representatives today is swinging a sledgehammer at a cornerstone of contemporary American democracy and undermining the most extraordinary body of environmental law in the world.

Chief among the attacks is HR 2018, known as the “Clean Water Cooperative Federalism Act of 2011.” The bill, currently working its way through the House, hogties the federal government’s role in administering the federal Clean Water Act and gives states a veto powerover a host of critical water quality decisions that the Clean Water Act currently authorizes the Environmental Protection Agency to make. This approach will foster a 1950s-style race to bottom as shortsighted and self-interested state politicians dismantle their clean water laws in order to recruit filthy polluters.

Read More Here:

An Assault on Clean Water and Democracy

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/robert-f-kennedy-jr/an-assault-on-clean-water_b_891613.html

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Posted On 9-2-11 By Marcia G. Yerman

NYC writer focusing on women’s issues; co-founder, cultureID

Out of sight out of mind-

No one thinks about the sediment.   Most have no idea it is even there.

Not the water utility administrators, not the mayor not the elected city council members.  Many times elected officials vote to clean or  repaint the exterior of a water tower and never consider the inside condition.  The popular view is that Pure Treated drinking water is pumped into the water storage tank or tower where it is held, until the end user opens a tap at their kitchen sink and gets a glass of crystal clean water.

The Truth-

All water distribution systems accumulate sediment in tanks over time.

The water is often tested daily, if the chlorine residual goes down – operators do not ask why, they just add more chlorine, over time the additional chlorine breaks down and itself becomes a contaminate in the tank that can cause cancer.   *** See References below

Instead of constantly adding more and more treatment chemicals, simply cleaning the sediment from the floor of the tanks is the solution.

A countless number of biological contaminates can use the sediment in the floor of water tanks and towers to get a foot hold in a municipal drinking water system and grow into a real health concern.  Why should we care what is on the bottom of a water storage tank?

We drink off the bottom of water storage tanks!  Of course like many things the adverse health effects are unequally distributed to poor communities where drinking store bought bottled water is not a given, It is also these communities who have underfunded water systems that suffer from lack of maintenance.

Many utility systems that can afford inspection and cleaning of their systems simply do not allocate the funds for it because there are no regulations requiring them to do so.

In Texas yearly inspections of water storage tanks and towers are required.

Tanks get inspected in Texas.  The problem in this state is there is no rule or regulation requiring tanks to be cleaned. So while thanks get inspected every year,  most are seldom if  ever cleaned.

The AWWA (American Water Works Association)  recommends that water storage tanks be cleaned every 3 to 5 years or as needed.  The EPA has published multiple white papers about contamination public water systems and the importance to keep tanks free of sediment.

Few ever read EPA white papers and AWWA recommendations are largely ignored when there are no rules or regulations backing them up.

Of course there is always someone who is doing the right thing out there, just because it is the right thing to do.  In this case that would be the City of Arlington, Texas.

According to surveys conducted by the Environmental Working Group, Arlington, Texas has The best water in the United States, probably making it the best water in the world.  Arlington is located in the middle of the DFW metroplex getting its water from the same source as 50 other systems.   The water is treated in two water plants using similar treatment chemicals and methods as surrounding systems.

What sets them apart?  For the past 18 years But they  have made a commitment to keep their tanks clean,  Every year a Potable Water Dive crew is contracted to vacuum the tanks clean while they remain full of treated drinking water.    The divers literarily clean dust from the floor of water storage tanks, while surrounding cities allow multiple inches to accumulate before cleaning.

Too many water utilities in this country have no idea how much sediment if  any  is in the floor of their water storage tanks because they have never hired an inspection crew with underwater cameras to check it out.  It is never thought of so they stay caught in the cycle of adding more and more treatment chemicals when contamination is detected.

Lack of regulations in this overlooked undervalued part of our infrastructure is needlessly putting millions of people at risk for illness, cancer and even death.  When the solution is as simple as cleaning the floor of a storage area.  It just so happens that this area stores water, and it is often 150 foot or more up in the air.

The City of Arlington has proven the effectiveness of keeping water storage tanks clean,

According to the research I did for my book “Inspecting and Cleaning Potable Water Storage”  the majority of states do not have regulations requiring inspection or cleaning.

Do you think the EPA should require tanks to be Cleaned?

Take the poll :     CLICK HERE AND TAKE THE POLL AT THE BOTTOM OF THIS BLOG

Please share this with friends check out my Videos posted on you tube  just search RON PERRIN

Visit www.ronperrin.com

This is a vastly complicated subject, that can be pulled down to three very simple terms.

1. If you have a water storage tank or tower in your town there is sediment in it.
2. Sediment bad,
3. Remove Sediment and you remove the inorganic contaminates the habitat that organic contaminates can grow in.

See other videos and Vote Me Up! at http://current.com/users/ronperrin.htm

*** Quick Reference:

See:  Disinfection byproducts list at: http://water.epa.gov/drink/contaminants/index.cfm#Byproduc

Reference: Health Risk From Microbiological Growth and Biofilms in Drinking water Systems.  Published by  the EPA office of Water  June 17, 2002.

http://www.epa.gov/ogwdw/disinfection/tcr/pdfs/whitepaper_tcr_biofilms.pdf

QUOTE:

PAGE 26        G. Sediment Accumulation

Significant microbial activity may occur in accumulated sediment (USEPA, 1992b). Organic and inorganic sediments can also accumulate in low-flow areas of the distribution system, and enhance microbial activity by providing protection and nutrients (USEPA, 1992b). Biofilms that slough can accumulate in the periphery of distribution systems leading to sediment accumulation and the proliferation of some microorganisms (van der Kooij, 2000). Sediments may be an important source of nutrients in open finished water reservoirs, by accumulating slowly biodegrading materials which

are then broken down and released into the water column (LeChevallier, 1999b). The opportunities for biofilm development may be more abundant in storage tanks than in distribution system piping. Frequently, water is drawn from storage tanks only when water demand is high, such as during drought, fire flow, and flushing operations. This intermittent use results in prolonged storage times that may lead to increased sediment accumulation and lack of a disinfectant residual in the finished water storage vessel. Biological and aesthetic effects can be observed following the release of accumulated sediments from low flow areas of the distribution system (Geldreich, 1990).

Many studies have identified microbes in accumulated sediments, including both pathogens and non-pathogens. These include bacteria, viruses, protozoa, algae, fungi and invertebrates. Opportunistic pathogens that have been detected, and can multiply in sediments, include Legionella and mycobacteria (van der Kooij, 2000). Some primary pathogens can also survive for some time in sediments. Hepatitis A virus survived more than four months in sediments at both 5/C and 25/C (Sobsey et al., 1986). Other opportunistic pathogens found in sediments include Pseudomonas fluorescens

and Flavobacterium spp. (Berger et al., 1993). Sediments can also release nutrients into the water which stimulate biofilm growth downstream (LeChevallier, 1999b).

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Page 34      I. Proper Storage Vessel Management and Alteration

Proper storage vessel management and alteration, when necessary, can prevent contamination of the distribution system. Following TCR violations in 1996 in Washington D.C., one measure that proved effective in bringing the system back into compliance was the cleaning, inspection and disinfection of storage tanks and reservoirs (Clark, et al., 1999).

END QUOTE

A countless number of biological contaminants can use the sediment in the floor of water tanks and towers to get a foot hold in a municipal drinking water system and grow into a real health concern.  Why should we care what is on the bottom of a water storage tank?

We drink off the bottom of water storage tanks!  Of course like many things the adverse health effects are unequally distributed to poor communities where drinking store bought bottled water is not a given, It is also these communities who have underfunded water systems that suffer from lack of maintenance.

Many utility systems that can afford inspection and cleaning of their systems simply do not allocate the funds for it because there are no regulations requiring them to do so.

See potable water storage tank inspection and cleaning on this video.

This video shows how professional companies like “RON PERRIN WATER TECHNOLOGIES” using cutting edge equipment can make quick work out of inspecting and cleaning the most difficult water storage facilities.  The inspections can be performed with zero water loss or disruption in service.   Potable water divers can clean the floor of the facilities with minimal water loss providing a healthier storage area for municipal drinking water.  This makes a huge difference, a clean storage tank reduces the amount of treatment chemicals needed to meet current sanitary regulations.

Do you think the EPA should require Potable Water Storage tanks and towers to be cleaned?

Take the poll on this blog and be counted!

Link to the video

http://ronperrin.wordpress.com/2010/05/25/water-storage-tank-cleaning/

EPA Issues Guidance for Chromium-6 in Drinking Water

their concerns are for storage tanks.

None of the tools that are outlined below have worked to get PWSs to

clean their tanks every 5 years.  Unfortunately, it comes down to the

personal preference of each PWS’s Manager whether the tank is cleaned on

a schedule recommended by guidance.

Some manager’s religiously clean their tanks every year, or every three years but for others, it never

occurs to them to clean their tanks.

This is unacceptable and can

sicken hundreds and cause fatalities.  Because nothing has worked, it is
vital for the protection of public health to create a regulatory (not
guidance) back stop that any system that has not cleaned and inspected
their storage tanks in the last 5 years would incur a violation.  This
is not a burden to those PWSs that have done what is right and followed
guidance but it does provide equal public health protection for those
who have not followed guidance.  We need to ask ourselves, where will
the next waterborne disease outbreak, like Alamosa occur?   In Alamosa,
one person died and 1300 others were sickened in a waterborne disease
outbreak that was caused due to neglect of their storage tanks – this
was completely preventable.  This person died needlessly.  Create a
regulatory backstop to prevent waterborne disease outbreaks from ever
occurring from such a preventable cause.

AWWA guidance and EPA whitepapers do not work to get PWSs to clean their
tanks every 5 years!

AWWA Manual M42 recommends tanks be drained, inspected and cleaned at
least every 3 years.  This same recommendation is reflected in EPA’s
Whitepaper on Finished Water Storage Tanks.  Kirmeyer, one of the
industry’s most  knowledgeable persons on storage tanks and water
quality, recommends tanks be drained, cleaned and have a comprehensive
inspection every 3  to 5 years.  These recommendations are ignored and
unknown to most PWSs.  They are recommendations, they are nice to do and
as a consequence, tanks are not cleaned and inspected and that’s why we
continue to find feet of sediment inside of tanks.  They don’t realize
the public health significance that sediment and holes large enough to
allow birds, rodents and insects into their tanks can have, it can lead
to waterborne disease outbreaks.  Salmonella can last for months in a
wet environment.  Clearly guidance does not work to get PWSs to clean
their tanks every 5 years.  We need a regulatory backstop to get PWSs to
do what is right for public health protection.  This does not need to be
delayed to study this to death, this is one of the most simple and
practical ways to protect public health.

None of the 50 states use their Significant Deficiency authority in
sanitary surveys for ground or surface water to clean their tanks every
5 years

None of the states have “not cleaning and inspecting their tank within
the last 5 years” as an item on their list of significant deficiencies.
The reason is States don’t realize the public health significance of
sediment buildup and/or the significance of breaches to a storage tank.
That is why cleaning and inspection is not on State’s significant
deficiency lists for sanitary surveys.  When you have both sediment
buildup and breaches, that is a fatal combination, and what causes
waterborne disease outbreaks like in Alamosa, Colorado.  One person died
from this Salmonella waterborne disease outbreak in Alamosa, he died,
from something that is totally and completely preventable.  There is a
class action lawsuit ongoing at this time.   You may justly ask why
aren’t we having waterborne outbreaks at more systems?  Because along
with sediment buildup and holes you need an event that would scour this
disease laden sediment into the distribution system.  Unfortunately,
that event that would awake this sleeping giant of a public health
concern is uncontrolled (e.g., fire flow, poor operation, power outages,
etc.) and that is completely unpredictable.  Gideon, Missouri had holes
that allowed salmonella contaminated bird feces into their tank but, it
was not until they underwent a flushing program that accidentally
drained their tank and flushed contaminated sediment into their
distribution system that the outbreak occurred.  This series of events
that led to hundreds of illnesses and 7 deaths stands ready to occur
again at hundreds of PWSs across the country.  EPA you have given the
drinking water industry a tremendous opportunity to prevent hundreds of
serious illnesses and fatalities from occurring from something the
industry already recognizes is vital to perform by creating a regulatory
backstop.  But, and I can not say this strongly enough, if you are
relying on significant deficiencies to achieve this goal it is not and
will not work unless there is a regulatory back stop.

State regulations that require PWSs to inspect their tanks only do not
work to get PWSs to clean their tanks every 5 years!

In the State of Texas where they have regulations that require PWSs to
have yearly inspections do not clean their tanks even when provided
overwhelming video and picture evidence of the sediment buildup.  They
don’t clean their tanks because they are not required to.  It is
impossible to inspect the floor of a tank when the sediment is not
removed.  The State of Wisconsin has recommendations for inspection
every 5 years, yet in the City of Brookfield two tanks were last cleaned
at a frequency of 7 years with 4 to 12 inches of sediment and another at
a 15 year frequency with 28 inches of sediment.     Clearly regulations
and recommendations to inspect only do not work to get PWSs to clean
their tanks every 5 years.  We need a regulatory backstop to get PWSs to
do what is right for public health protection.

State recommendations to inspect and clean their tanks do not work to
clean tanks every 5 years

Recommendations are largely ignored by PWSs.  Actually it’s much worse,
PWSs don’t even know these recommendations exist.  For example in the
State of Minnesota they had recommendations that stated ” All water
storage tanks should be inspected, cleaned and disinfected on an annual
basis.  Cleaning and disinfection should take place more frequently when
there have been identified water quality issues”.  The City of Moorhead,
one of the largest PWSs in the State, was unaware of any such
recommendation.  Recommendations to inspect and clean do not work to get
PWS to clean their tanks every 5 years.  We need a regulatory backstop
to get PWSs to do what is right for public health protection.

Protect public health over politics

Many agencies purporting to protect small systems (e.g., Rural Water,
RCAP, etc.) from the high costs of regulations are the very same systems
with the highest levels of sediment and most significant holes in their
storage tanks.  Many of these small systems can clean their tanks by
themselves with their own staff and fire hoses.  If these agencies were
truly helping these systems they should be assisting them to comply with
industry guidance of cleaning their tanks every 3 years.  If this were
the case such agencies would be able to say don’t worry about a
regulation to inspect and clean your tank it will never apply to you
because we ensure your tank in cleaned every 3 years.   The cost of a
cleaning a storage tank does not compare to the cost of a waterborne
disease outbreak and defending yourself from class action lawsuits.

More than half of the chemicals detected are not subject to health or safety regulations and can legally be present in any amount. The federal government does have health guidelines for others, but 49 of these contaminants have been found in one place or another at levels above those guidelines, polluting the tap water for 53.6 million Americans. The government has not set a single new drinking water standard since 2001.

Water utilities spend 19 times more on water treatment chemicals every year than the federal government invests in protecting lakes and rivers from pollution in the first place.

Read More Here : EWG.ORG WATER – HOME PAGE

Sediment being removed from a ISD water storage tank in West Texas.

What is in your water?

Working with the Environmental working group the New York Times has published an interactive site to allow you to better understand what is in the water we drink.  Find your utility here New York Times Water Data Web Site. In an Article titled “That Tap Water Is Legal but May Be Unhealthy”  published in the New York Times, December  16, 2009, Charles Duhigg points out

“Only 91 contaminants are regulated by the Safe Drinking Water Act, yet more than 60,000 chemicals are used within the United States, according to Environmental Protection Agency estimates. Government and independent scientists have scrutinized thousands of those chemicals in recent decades, and identified hundreds associated with a risk of cancer and other diseases at small concentrations in drinking water, according to an analysis of government records by The New York Times”.

According to Duhigg the reports published by the National Academy of Sciences and many other health reports suggest that millions of Americans become sick each year from drinking contaminated water, with maladies from upset stomachs to cancer and birth defects.

Read the entire article here: That Tap Water Is Legal but May Be Unhealthy

To find our what is in your water click this link: Environmental Working Group & New York Times interactive web page.

Total Coliform Rule.  The entire posting can be read on this link.

Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 134 / Wednesday, July 14, 2010 / Proposed Rules

I have posted the most interesting part (at least to me).

2. Storage Tank Inspection and Cleaning EPA requests comment on the value and cost of periodic storage tank inspection and cleaning. There are instances of storage tanks being the source of waterborne disease outbreaks at PWSs. In December 1993, a Salmonella typhimurium outbreak in Gideon, Missouri resulted in over 600 people affected by diarrhea, 31 cases of laboratory-confirmed salmonellosis and seven deaths of nursing home residents who had exhibited diarrheal illness (four deaths were confirmed by culture). The larger of the two storage tanks had a breach in the roof hatch that allowed pigeon droppings to be carried into the tank and likely accumulated in the several inches of sediment. This contaminated sediment, more than likely, was pulled into the distribution system by a flushing program that  drained the tank (Clark et al. 1996). Salmonella typhimurium was isolated from the sediment of one of the towers, and tap water tested positive for fecal coliforms (CDC 1996). In March 2008, Alamosa, Colorado (with a population of about 9,000 people) experienced a waterborne disease outbreak associated with Salmonella. The report released by the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (Falco and Williams 2009) indicated that the outbreak resulted in 442 reported cases of illnesses, 122 of which were laboratory confirmed, and one fatality. The State epidemiologist estimated that a total of 1,300 people may have been ill. Two storage tanks in Alamosa had several inches of sediment and breaches; one tank had breaches large enough for birds and animals to enter. Some of the key factors that contributed to these two outbreaks include significant levels of sediment (several inches to feet) and the presence of breaches of the integrity of the storage tank. Sediment accumulation occurs within storage facilities due to quiescent conditions which promote particle setting. Over time sediment continues to accumulate in a tank, even if the finished water is consistently treated tobelow 0.1 nephelometric turbidity unit(NTU). For surface water systems, it isnot uncommon to have 1⁄4 to 1⁄2 inch or more of sediment accumulate after two to three years (Kirmeyer et al. 1999).

While there are no turbidity regulations for ground water systems (except for ground water under the direct influence of surface water (GWUDI)), the levels of turbidity can be significant in the water pumped from an aquifer. Sand particles, if allowed to accumulate, provide pore spaces that house diverse populations ofbiota (which may include pathogenic microorganisms) (Kirmeyer et al. 1999; van der Kooij 2003). Periodic high flows in the storage tank may scour, stir up, and suspend the sediment (along with entrapped bacteria and pathogens) and carry it into the distribution system, with greater accumulation of sediment being a more significant concern. Other water quality problems associated with sediment accumulation include increased disinfectant demand and disinfection byproduct formation. The storage tank’s vulnerability to contamination increases when breaches of the storage tank allow insects, animals, and birds and their associated diseases to enter. Contamination from bird and other animal excrement can potentially transmit disease-causing organisms to the finished water.  Waterfowl, for example, are known carriers of many different waterborne pathogens including Vibrio cholerae(Ogg et al. 1989). Based on the potential public health implications associated with poorly maintained storage tanks (e.g., as indicated by significant sediment accumulation and breaches), EPA is interested in receiving comments and supporting information regarding the state and condition of tanks that have been cleaned and inspected, costs of storage tank inspection and cleaning, and how public health can be better protected. EPA requests information on whether there are States that recommend or require periodic inspection and cleaning of storage tanks. If so, what are the requirements, the frequency of inspection and cleaning, and how successful are they? Are inspections and cleaning done by individual PWSs or by contractors?

End

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The EPA extended the comment period until October 13, 2010.

Photos & comment from Ron Perrin:

Sediment Being removed from the floor of a water storage tank

Three inches of sediment being removed from a water tower.

Over time sediment builds up in almost all water storage tanks.  Only with annual inspection of the tanks can the utility operators know they have a problem with sediment levels or a possible breach in the tank.  The most common breach is missing or corroded vent screens.  In areas in the US where tanks are rarely or never inspected it is more common to see water storage tanks & towers with holes in the roof allowing insects and birds to enter the tank.

This sediment that builds up in the floor of the tank can become a breeding ground for bacteria, protozoa and even viruses.  As contaminants become a problem, the water utilities add more and more chlorine and other treatment chemicals. This kills living organisms but starts to build up chemical byproducts like chloroform, trihalomethanes, bromoform, and other contaminants that have been linked to cancer.

Removing the sediment in the floor of water storage tanks is the best way to keep them healthy.  It takes less treatment chemicals, less treatment chemicals means less chemical by-products in our water.  Please join me in responding to the EPA request for comment.  Let them know there should be rules to inspect and clean all water storage tanks that serve water to the public.

—————–

Related Information:

The New York Times has a series of articles called “Toxic Waters” about the worsening pollution in American waters and regulators’ response.  Read more at this link:

That Tap Water Is Legal but May Be Unhealthy By CHARLES DUHIGG Published: December 17, 2009

What’s in Your Water

The 35-year-old federal law regulating tap water is so out of date that the water Americans drink can pose what scientists say are serious health risks — and still be legal. Examine whether contaminants in your water supply met two standards: the legal limits established by the Safe Drinking Water Act, and the typically stricter health guidelines. The data was collected by an advocacy organization, the Environmental Working Group, who shared it with The Times.  See the link below:

What is in your water? Find water Quality reports here:

People are concerned about their water quality.

By Ron Perrin            (c) 2010 all rights reserved

Cleaning water storage tanks is a positive action to address this problem.  While a few states require water storage tanks to be inspected only Florida requires tanks to be cleaned at this time.  The few states that do require tanks to be cleaned are content with the outdated AWWA methods of draining the facility, putting an inspector inside to check for structural soundness, and paint conditions, few inspectors pay a lot of attention to the sediment on the floor.  The tank or tower is then decontaminated by super chlorinating the water as it is filled.  That water is dumped, and replaced with fresh water that is tested before the tanks returns to service.  This method that has been in place for over 25 years and is a good way to disinfect any contamination an inspector may have introduced into the tank.  It will also kill a majority if not all of the bacteria and viruses that may be on the interior walls or on the surface of the sediment in the floor of the facility.

This method is NOT CLEANING the tank.  You can inspect & disinfect the water storage tank or tower and NEVER CLEAN IT.

If there are colonies of bacteria in and under the sediment before this process many will survive the disinfection process using the sediment for cover.  Protozoa like crypto can even survive the decontamination process on the surface of the sediment.  It has been proven that the only effective way to rid a water storage facility of crypto is physical removal.   What this decontamination procedure will do is return the tank to a condition that will pass a water quality check, while problems continue to grow in the sediment.

Most water storage tanks & towers are not designed to be cleaned.   The water drained goes directly into the water system.  There is not a “DRAIN PIPE” or “Wash Out Port” on most water storage tanks or towers.

The engineers that designed most of the  the tanks & towers in service today never thought about needing to clean them.  The thinking was this- It is storing perfectly clean and treated water in a closed system from the water plant, the water will be in the tank until it goes to the tap and is used by the consumer.  How could it get dirty?

Since 1990 tanks have been routinely inspected by divers, ROV’s and remote underwater video cameras.  What we know for sure it that over time WATER STORAGE TANKS accumulate sediment.

When tanks are drained & inspected what appears to be 1/4 or 1/2″ of insignificant sediment on the floor of the tanks, may actually be two or three inches of semi-liquid habitat on the floor of the tank that can support & hide billions upon billions of contaminates.  Seen with underwater cameras while the tanks remain in service we are only now beginning to understand how much of a threat sediment on the floor of a potable water storage tank is to public health.   Many states without any inspection rules are allowing feet of sediment to accumulate.

Tank Cleaning Methods:

Some attempt to pressure wash the facilities.  Workers are sent up and into a water storage tower with pressure washers and told to clean the tank.  They see a big floor drain in the center and of course push everything into it.  There is no where else for it to go.  Every thing that is cleaned with a pressure washer is then pumped right back up into the tanks when the facility goes back into service.

From the drawing board tanks & towers need to be designed with clean out drains & clean out valves.  Regulators need to understand that the AWWA rules for inspecting and disinfecting water storage tanks are antiquated.  The State of Florida is the first to understand that regulations must be in place to CLEAN tanks at least once every five years, in addition tanks that are attached to a raw water source must be cleaned annually.

For More information on tank & tower cleaning visit www.ronperrin.com

Water Storage Tower Being Cleaned

People are concerned about their drinking water, and they should be.

To properly clean most water storage tanks the sediment must be PUMPED out.  Removing the sediment to the yard of the facility is the only practical way that the tank is really cleaned.  A Potable Water Dive Crew using equipment that is purchased for and only used in potable water is a economical way to keep the facility clean.  Wearing dry suits that completely seal the diver in his own environment the diver can be washed down with a 200ppm chlorine solution.  This removes the need to “decontaminate” the entire tank after the inspection or cleaning.  The diver can then enter the facility and vacuum  ALL LOOSE sediment from the floor of the tank, completely removing any contaminate that may be using the sediment for cover.

This method leaves the tank much cleaner than pressure washing or the traditional bucket & shovel.  It also saves water, using only a fraction of the water lost draining then disinfecting the tank.  Saving the utility time and water results in a saving of utility funds while providing customers with cleaner drinking water.  When human health is a risk, the savings cannot even be calculated when you consider that some basic housekeeping may keep your utility from being next weeks headlines regarding contaminated drinking water.

Would you drink from a dirty water glass?

This is a great article that ask a great question.  It also points out that the Alabama Department of Environmental Management has certain recommendations about routine water tank and tower maintenance that include tank inspection at least once every five years.

But they have gotten it WRONG.  Alabama requires the tank to be inspected by draining and disifecting the interior a minimum of once every five years.

What is wrong with that you ask?

Disinfecting is NOT CLEANING.  We are not all speaking the same language here.  Many say disinfecting assuming when that is done the tank will be clean.  This is not the case.  From the engineers who build water storage tanks down to the managers who run the systems there has been a major break in communications with what is actually in water storage facilities.

The tanks & towers are designed to be CLOSED SYSTEMS, they store the crystal clear clean water that comes from the water plant.  When Alabama DEM requires operators to drain & inspect the water storage tanks and then disinfect the interior, that disinfection process is to kill whatever contamination may have been introduced into the tank during the inspection.  Sediment that was on the floor of the facility before the inspection is there after the tank is disinfected and placed back into service.

Disinfecting is not Cleaning,  if you have contaminates like bacteria, protozoa or even viruses burried in the sediment before the disinfection the majority of them are going to be there after the disinfection.  The only way to remove them from the facility is to CLEAN the TANK.

Most tanks and water towers were not designed to be cleaned.  There are no handy cleaning ports to open up and wash things into.  It was assumed that only clean water would be stored in these facilities and there was no need.

The reality is that over time sediment accumilates on the floor of water storage tanks and towers.  They need to be Cleaned out, not looked at and disinfected.

Once sediment is de-watered a few inches of soft simi -liquid sediment can become 1/2 inch of hard clay like coating stuck on the floor of the tank.  An underwater inspection can offer more information about the facility without any disruption in service.   Divers deployed to clean the tank can remove everything that is loose in the floor of the facility and provide video documentation confirming the job was done and the floor is now clean.

Washing a tank out after draining it for an inspection is not a viable way to clean a tank.  For example on an elevated tower, where is the sediment being washed to?  We have seen many cases where it was washed down the center standpipe only to return when the facility is put back in service.

The other option is a bucket and shovel, where even the most dedicated crew can not get 100% of the sediment out.  The shovel is also hard on the painted surface of the floor.  Divers removing the sediment OUT of the facility and onto the yard of the tank is really the best option.  When you consider the  disruption in service, man hours and cost of water divers are also the most economical option to clean a water storage tank or tower.

Potable Water Diver in DRY SUIT

Sand & Sediment being removed from a Potable Water Tank

If you have any more details about  rules for inspecting & cleaning water storage tanks in Alabama or any other state contact me-  Im always glad to share information.

Please check out the rest of our blog at www.ronperrin.us and visit my web site at www.ronperrin.com

By Ron Perrin   (c) Ron Perrin 2010 all rights reserved