Photo: Sedement being removed from a potable water storage tank.

DRINKING WATER PROJECT NOTES:

We are currently looking for a Steering Committee to discuss the possibility and merit of forming a Non-Profit Organization.   Currently titled “DRINKING WATER PROJECT” : Our current outline in listed below:  A non-profit Organization dedicated to the education of potable water hygieneThe importance of INSPECTING AND CLEANING POTABLE WATER The Problem:Municipal water treatment plants in the United States spend millions upon millions of dollars each year to produce clean safe drinkable water.  Unfortunately in far too many cases the clean water is then pumped into storage tanks that are rarely if ever cleaned.Sediment build up from inches to feet in the floor of the tank becomes a habitat where bacteria and other contaminates can hide and multiply.  Keeping the sediment removed from water storage tanks is often overlooked.  Keeping water storage tanks clean should be a standard maintenance procedure. The solution: Education of government officials form public works directors to water board members to  the general public. Our Mission: Legislation – Lobbying congress to mandate the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to require all water systems INSPECT THEIR SYSTEMS YEARLY and clean their storage tanks at least once every three years. Program development-   Grants - Raise funds to assist rural and under funded systems inspect and clean their water storage systems through grants.    Education-  Educate the public as to what is in potable water storage tanks across the country and the importance of keeping them clean. Build coalition with other like minded organizations.  Educate through -    Articles    -  Direct Mail to public officials  - Trade shows  & a Speakers Bureau    If you would like to be on our steering committee, or you would like to be considered for a board position please e-mail RON PERRIN at ronlooks@aol.com be sure to put  DRINKING WATER PROJECT in the subject line.  

Photo: Sediment being removed from Potable Water Storage Tank.

        The American Water Works Association recommends that tanks be cleaned at least every three years.  Recent focus on pharmaceuticals in water systems have made more people than ever aware of contaminates that may be lurking in their water supply.   Although pharmaceuticals in drinking water may be in the news the real threat is random bacteria and cryptosporidium spores.

The Threat of Bacteria-

Countless kinds of bacteria can make their way into a public water supply.  Chlorine and other treatment methods are our first line of defense.  When potable water storage tanks are clean small amounts of bacteria that survive the treatment process cycle through the system undetected and harmless due to the small quantity.  Sediment in the tank can capture and harbor these small amounts of bacteria.  The bacteria can start to grow hidden from chlorine deep in the sediment.  Chlorine can even be overwhelmed and depleted if a nitrate eating bacteria is collected.   As the bacteria continues to grow in the sediment month after month and year after year the threat to public health grows.       

  The Threat of Cryptosporidium

The threat of cryptosporidium outbreak is even greater with sediment in the floor of a water storage tank.   Again Sediment can harbor bacteria, cryptosporidium and other contaminates.  The best defense to insure a protozoa like  cryptosporidium will not take up residence in your water storage system may be to keep the tanks free of sediment.  In the Spring of 1993 over 100 people died as a result of a cryptosporidium outbreak that was directly associated with the Howard Avenue Water Purification Plant.  This was the largest water born disease ever documented in United States history.  It is estimated that over 400,000 people became ill with diarrhea.  

Due to the fact that cryptosporidium is a protozoa with a hard shell and not a bacteria the best defense to ensure it will not inhabit your water system is to make sure your water tanks remain sediment free.  This will remove and habitat that small amounts bacteria or protozoa could lodge and grow in, Preventing possible public health problem in the most simple way.  Keeping water storage tanks clean.    

 Yearly inspections of your potable water storage tanks is the best way to keep up with the sediment levels in your tank.   Since 1997 Ron Perrin Water Technologies have served water utility companies. They  offer high tech inspections using the latest generation of remotely operated underwater cameras.  Comprehensive inspections with NO WATER LOSS and NO Disruption in your service.  Our underwater camera gives you a first hand look at your water quality and allows you to make an informed decision on whether the tank should be cleaned or taken out of service for other repairs.

 CLEAN YOUR TANKS 

Keeping your water storage tanks clean may be one of the most overlooked maintenance procedures in the water industry.  Out of sight and out of mind, sediment in the bottom of your water storage tanks is never seen and rarely thought of.   The sediment that builds up in almost all potable water tanks can be a habitat for bacteria and other contaminates.  Bacteria can get a foothold in the sediment  out of reach of the chlorine entering the tank. Hidden in the sediment the bacteria can then grow and flourish creating a health risk. A nitrate eating bacteria can even deplete your chlorine levels leaving you at even greater risk. Removing the sediment and keeping your tank clean is the best way to maintain a healthy water system.  Divers wearing a dry suit are sealed in their own environment, they are then washed down with a chlorine solution meeting all State and AWWA requirements.  The divers may then enter the water system and vacuum out the sediment.  Everything that is loose is removed, allowing the chlorine or other treatment chemicals entering the tank to effectively do its job. This is a much more effective method than the traditional buckets and shovels.  We are able to remove ALL loose sediment without scraping shovels on painted surfaces.  In addition thereIs minimum water loss with our method, you do not need to DRAIN YOUR TANKS.         Call today to learn how we can save you water, time and money while helping you maintain the healthiest water system possible.

1-888-481-1768        Visit  www.ronperrin.com  

Cleaning these tanks and towers is important and often overlooked.  The photo below is from a July 2007 cleaning of a potable water storage tank.  This is public drinking water that goes straight to the tap.   With all of the other problems water utility directors face day to day thinking about having the floor of their storage tanks cleaned is often overlooked.  In addition in the past it has been a major disruption to water service.  The tanks would normally need to be taken out of service drained and then cleaned.  Buckets and shovels have often been the primary tools. Today, potable water dive crews can enter the water system wearing a dry suit that keeps the diver in his own environment away from the water.  They are able to vacuum the floor of the tank clean removing sediment that may contain or become a future breeding ground for harmful bacteria.  See www.ronperrin.com for more information.

How they do it:

Divers wear dry suits so no part of the man is in contact with the water in the system.  They are then washed down with a chlorin solution to be in compliance with State and AWWA regulations. Below a diver prepares to enter the water storage tank.

Check out our youtube video that shows a sample water tower inspection with a remote underwater camera.  Click on or copy and paste this link http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KwYYeHNviGI , this is raw video without the voice over just to give you an idea of what our underwater inspection videos look like. We will have new video soon!

Visit the home page for “Water IQ: Know Your Water” — the campaign that educates utility customers and businesses about their water sources and provides simple tips on how to be more efficient with water. The rapid population growth in Texas, booming economic development and—for many parts of Texas—the worst drought in 50 years means water is in greater demand than ever before. As consumers, we need to use our limited water supplies efficiently no matter how much it rains.The good news is it doesn’t take much effort. If everyone does their part, we can make our water last.Go to http://www.wateriq.org/ or  http://www.wateriq.org/about.php

Ron Perrin Water Technologies is proud to sponsor this blog.  Our goal is to get people thinking about their water and allow utility officials to understand all of the choices they have when it comes to Inspecting and cleaning potable water storage tanks and towers. Our American owned, Texas based company offers Remote camera, ROV camera and Advanced Commercial Diving Services to the Northeast, Southeastern, Midwest and Southwest states. Although we are not an Engineering company we often ware contracted by Engineering & consulting firms to provide underwater services in the U.S. Our advanced diving and inspection services have been contracted in 5 states in the U.S. and we have done one International job to date in Mexico.  Our state of the art potable water tank inspection methods deliver the most information for the least cost.  When our inspection reveals high sediment levels our advanced potable water cleaning service removes sediment while it remains in a simi liquid form.  These underwater services save treated drinking water and allowing our customers to maintain the healthyest water system possible.  Call us for a free quote today, toll free at 1-888-481-1768 or visit our web site at www.ronperrin.com

Here are a few photos of divers cleaning potable water storage tanks.

 The diver moving this sediment out of the tank was working in water with ZERO visability.  I think its safe to say that none of us expect our drinking water to look like this! 

Since 1992 divers have been a part of keeping water tanks clean in Texas.  Divers are washed down with a 200ppm chlorine solution using gear that is purchased for and only used in potable water.  No part of the divers body touches the water.  Using a specially equipped  pump or air lift system they are then able to remove the sediment from the floor of the tank.   This is the most effective way to clean a potable water storage tank because it removes sediment that can be a habitat for bacteria and other contaminants.  Everything that is loose is removed  without damage to painted surfaces. This allows the chlorine in the system to more effectively do its job. 

It was hard to beleve we were cleaning a potable water tank a few weeks ago the sediment made the water we were removing from the floor of the tank look like rusty chocolate milk.  The photo below gives you a vew from the top of the tank.  The dark sediment was so thick it blew the blue discharge hose, you can see it being pumped out.

For More information on this process visit  www.ronperrin.com Or call 1-888-481-1768

 We all have a duty to conserve water.  For most of us that means not watering your lawns in the hot part of the day or not running the dishwasher when it is only ½ full.  But for those in charge of water storage hundreds of thousands of gallons of fresh “TREATED” drinking may be at risk every time a water storage tank or tower is inspected or cleaned. The traditional way to inspect a water storage tank has been to drain it and put someone inside to take a look.  This has been a very expensive process and therefore put off or just not done at all.  When a storage tank is drained often as much as 1/3 of the water is lost. On many systems the last third of the tank will not have enough pressure to continue to flow to customers.  On a 500,000 gallon tank that could be as much as a 166,000 gallons of water.  I have only seen a few systems that did not loose a great deal of water every time they take a tank out of service.  That is bad enough, but we have only begun to spend time money and water to perform an inspection in a traditional manner.

Next, a person must enter the facility to take a look around.  The tank is dark, it is hard to see anything,  It is much like entering a big cave with no lights.  The sunlight blaring in from the open hatch allows a part of the floor to be seen but makes the remainder of the tank even harder to see with a flashlight.  If the walls are corroded they may be dark and near impossible to photograph for a report. The inspector is stuck to the ladder and the floor of the tank it is hard to see important inspection points like the normal waterline and inside roof.  In addition to that anyone who enters this type of confined space is a great risk if air quality samples are not taken.  Utility workers inspecting tanks have found themselves short of breath, some have even lost consciousness and died.  Any confined space is dangerous.  You wouldn’t think about a large container that had safe drinking water in it being deadly.  But it is. 

There are a lot of things going on in a steel water tank once it has been drained of the fresh drinkable water.  Here are just two to think about.  First a chlorine has been used to treat the water a residue is left coating the walls, on a hot day the sun warming the tank on the outside can turn this chlorine residue into a deadly gas.  Second if the tank is corroded the exposed iron residue from the corrosion and exposed metal will deplete oxygen.  When the oxygen in the tank is depleted to less than 12% the tank becomes a death trap.     That explains some of the risk, but we still haven’t talked about the cost.  After the inspector leaves the tank the tank is contaminated.  To meet AWWA standards it must be decontaminated from him or her walking around in a tank we drink from.  Here comes the real cost of time money and water. The tank must be filled with water, super chlorinated to kill any contamination then drained filled again and tested for purity.

Since 1992 I worked for hundreds of water utilities helping them inspect and clean thousands of water storage tanks.  I have only seen one utility that performed air quality testing before personnel entered a drained water storage tank.  That was on a Naval Air Station.  The fact is the right equipment needed to enter a drained water storage facility is expensive, seldom used and almost never provided by most water utilities.  Larger water utilities have their own labs to make sure the water is super chlorinated to proper levels and then again when the tank is filled to return to service.  But smaller utilities are forced to use labs that may be on the other side of the county or the other side of the state costing the utility even more time with their tank out of service while they wait for results. 

Ron Perrin Water Technologies has a better solution. We do not drain water tanks to do inspections, EVER.  Instead of placing personnel at risk, wasting time, money and water we use remote cameras to go in and take a look.     

We have developed a inspection method that uses a remote high resolution underwater video cameras along with a underwater lighting system that allows you to see the inside roof, waterline areas, inside wall and the floor of the tank.  The camera is purchased for and only used in potable water, before each use it is washed down with a 200ppm chlorine solution to meet AWWA standards.  The inspection is recorded and narrated on a DVD.  This allows administrators to have more information about what is going on in their water system than if they personally placed themselves at risk and went inside the tank with a flashlight and camera.

 Photo: Remote Underwater Video Camera & Lighting System.

Our inspection method has been developed and refined since 1997.  We have thousands of successful inspections completed, delivering the most information about water storage tanks at a fraction of the cost all while saving millions of gallons of fresh water in the process.    Other services include ROV (remotely operated vehicle) inspections, and Diver inspections.  When a tank has sediment that needs to be removed we also provide in-service cleanings.  For more information see www.ronperrin.com