For over 30 years i have been inspecting and cleaning water storage tanks and towers. We inspect over 800 tanks a year with our for-profit business www.ronperrin.com.
Every week we see tanks that have never been cleaned. Everyone should be concerned about this. It is simply that many managers of smaller systems do not understand the importance of keeping water storage tanks clean. A storage tank or water tower is the last place water stops when it is on its way to your kitchen tap. Over time sediment builds up on the floor of the tank. This soft loose sediment can be an inviting habitat for a wide range of contaminates like bacteria, protozoa, and even viruses. Over time contaminates can deplete chlorine levels and put entire communities at risk. The mission of this organization is to simply show how important good housekeeping is. Keeping tanks clean eliminates the habitat that allows contaminants to grow. This reduces chlorine costs and improves the health of the community being served.
Lake Jackson shut off its supply from Brazosport Water Authority, which accounted for half its water source. … Lake Jackson’s water crisis began with the discovery of Naegleria fowleri, an amoeba that typically affects people when contaminated water enters their body through their nose, according to the CDC.Sep 30, 2020
TCEQ Report: City of Lake Jackson, Texas, Incident
The Boil Water Notice for Lake Jackson residents was lifted on Oct. 6. The water system was converted to free chlorine and extensively flushed throughout the distribution lines. Samples collected by the TCEQ and the City indicate that the water is safe to use for drinking and cooking. Residents are urged to continue precautions recommended by the Centers for Diseases Control and Prevention below until concerns with the ameba have been resolved.
RPWT has been inspecting and cleaning water storage facilities since 1997. The film goes into great detail of how microbial pathogens can use the sediment on the floor of a water storage tank, to get a foothold in the water distribution system.
The EPA has identified bacteria, protozoa and even viruses that can use the sediment commonly found in water storage for a habitat.
Yet there are no national regulations on inspecting or cleaning potable water storage tanks.
Microbiologists will explain the science behind water tank contamination from legionella and other microbial pathogens.
The documentary will expose a wide variety of cases where entire communities have been affected.
By now almost everyone is aware about lead seepage into the drinking water in Flint, MI that lead to a massive public health crisis and prompted President Obama to declare a federal state of emergency there.
The problem began when the city switched its water supply in 2014 from Detroit city water to water from the Flint River. Almost immediately, residents of Flint started complaining about the quality of the water. City and state officials denied for months that there was a serious problem. The GM plant in Flint quickly switched back to Detroit city water because the Flint river water was corroding car parts.
Due to the fact that anti-corrosion additive was not used supply pipes sustained major corrosion and lead was leaching into the water. The city switched back to its original water supply, but it was too late to reverse the damage to the pipes.
On the news we heard about High lead levels found in the blood of children. This can cause are “learning disabilities, behavioral problems and mental retardation,” but what went on behind the News stories? What made the City and the Governors office go from stating over and over again “The Water Meets EPA STANDARDS, it is safe to drink” to declaring a state of emergency and spending millions of dollars to switch back to Detroit water? What happened on the ground is a story you must read. I thought I knew a lot about the Flint crisis, there was a lot more I didn’t know and it is an amazing story to read. It will inform you on much more than Flint. This book looks at the relationship between recent water problems and new EPA rules that seem to be happening everywhere. She also explains the complicated relationship between the EPA, state government and municipal government that can sometimes work together, only to to fail. How in Flints case doing the right thing took a back seat to protecting jobs and political careers.
The unfolding crisis in Flint is captured in Dr. Hanna-Attisha’s new book, “What the Eyes Don’t See: A Story of Crisis, Resistance, and Hope in an American City”. Here is an excerpt from her book published by CBS News: https://cbsn.ws/2JU6a3U
This site is supported by Ron Perrin. Since 1997 my company Ron Perrin Water Technologies has been a leader in underwater inspection and cleaning for the water utility industry. We offer underwater inspection and cleaning services to municipal water utilities so they do not need to drain water tanks or towers to inspect or clean them. Our city drinking water comes from surface waters (lakes, rivers or streams) or ground water (well water). After the water is treated it is sent to the water storage tanks & towers where it waits to be used at your tap. Over time sediment builds up in these tanks the sediment can be a safe habitat for bacteria protozoa and even viruses.
Our cleaning service is performed by Commercial Divers(also called line air because they are breathing surface supplied air on an umbilical line). They wear dry suits that completely seal them in their own environment. The diver is then washed down with a chlorine solution before entering the water supply.
Once inside the water tank or tower our diver can quickly remove the accumulated sediment from the interior floor of the tank. Removing the habitat that can hide bacteria and other contamnants makes the water safer to drink and safes the utility money by reducing chlorine cost. because the contaminants are no longer growing and depleting the chlorine reserves.
The EPA is considering requiring ALL POTABLE WATER STORAGE TANKS in the U.S.A. TO BE INSPECTED AND CLEANED.
Ron Perrin in Washington D.C. on 10-14-14 to attend EPA meeting
Washington D.C. 10-14-14
On October 15th 2014, the EPA held a public meeting in regards to Distribution System Storage Facility Inspection and Cleaning. I attended that meeting in person to express my opinion on this issue. During the meeting a couple of surprising things were revealed. Many were under the impression that water tanks and towers were already being inspected during Sanitary Surveys performed by state regulators, when in fact most, if not all, state agencies do not allow their employees to climb to the top of water tanks and towers. The few states that climbed the towers in the past did not do an internal inspection of the facility.
A survey had been sent to state regulators to get their opinion on this issue. About half thought a regulation would be a good idea, the other half thought a paper on guidance would be sufficient. I went away from the meeting more convinced than ever that there should be a national regulation requiring all potable water storage tanks to be inspected and cleaned on a regular schedule.
The webinar is over but the EPA is still taking comments until the end of 2014. If you would like to make a comment on this issue, please send an e-mail to: SFIWebinar@cadmusgroup.com. Or take the poll below and I will send in the results at the end of the year. This is a chance to let your opinion be known!
My customers tell me they need less chlorine to meet water quality standards after I remove the sediment from their water storage tanks and towers. Sediment enters the tank one particle at a time and eventually accumulates enough for bacteria, protozoa and even viruses to use it as a habitat to grow and become a serious health problem. If proper inspections are not done to determine sediment levels, corrective action is seldom, if ever, taken. My opinion is that potable water storage facilities should be inspected inside and out every year, and a cleaning program to ensure tanks and towers are cleaned every 3 to 5 years should be in place on all tanks. What do you think? Take THE POLL BELOW and also visit http://www.tankdiver.us.
Topic:Distribution System Storage Facility Inspection and Cleaning
Background: The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Office of Ground Water and Drinking Water announces a public meeting and webinar on distribution system storage facility inspection and cleaning. The purpose of the meeting and webinar is to gather input and information from the public and stakeholders on the appropriate frequency of distribution system water storage facility inspection and cleaning, current practices, and the risk management approaches that can be taken to assure that inspection, cleaning and corrective action occur as necessary to help maintain facility integrity and finished water quality. The presenters and panelists will provide background information concerning storage facility inspection and cleaning, existing state programs and available guidance documents. For additional background information, please refer to the Federal Register notice published on Thursday, September 4, 2014 (79 FR 52647).
Public Comments: This meeting is open to the public. EPA encourages public input and will allocate time on the agenda for public comment. To ensure adequate time for public involvement, individuals or organizations interested in making a statement should mention their interest when they register. All presentation materials and statements should be emailed to SFIWebinar@cadmusgroup.com by October 8, 2014, so that the information can be incorporated into the webinar as appropriate. Only one person should present a statement on behalf of a group or organization, and statements will be limited to five minutes. Availability to make public comments will be provided on a first-come, first-served basis in the time available. Additional comments from attendees who did not pre-register to make comments will be taken if time permits. Comments, written statements, data or information can also be sent to SFIWebinar@cadmusgroup.com after the public meeting and webinar.
Background
In the Federal Register notice for the proposed Revisions to the Total Coliform Rule (75 FR
40926, July 14, 2010), the EPA requested comment on the value and cost of periodic distribution
system storage tank inspection and cleaning. The EPA received comments regarding unsanitary
conditions and contamination that can be found in storage facilities, which are not routinely
inspected and cleaned, including breaches and accumulation of sediment, animals, insects and
other contaminants. Some commenters suggested the need for a Federal regulation requiring
systematic inspection and cleaning because the existing practices are not successful in all cases.
Others suggested that regular sanitary surveys conducted by States and the adherence to existing
industry guidance could resolve such issues. The comments can be reviewed in the docket for the
rule at http://www.regulations.gov/#!documentDetail;D=EPA-HQ-OW-2008-0878-0283. This
meeting and webinar and the subsequent opportunity to submit comments are intended to collect
more data and information about the frequency of distribution system water storage facility
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inspection and cleaning and the need for more or better risk management approaches.
August 2013, the death of a 4-year-old boy staying near Violet, Louisiana, was linked to the Naegleria fowleri amoeba. The child had been playing on a slip and slide connected to the St. Bernard Parish’s water system that was later found to be contaminated with the amoeba.
According to NBC NEWS Sept. 16, 2013 –
“Deadly brain amoeba infects US tap water for the first time”
Naegleria fowleri infects people when water containing the amoeba enters the body through the nose. This typically occurs when people go swimming or diving in warm freshwater places, like lakes and rivers. The Naegleria fowleri amoeba then travels up the nose to the brain where it destroys the brain tissue. It has now attacked a potable water system in the United States. Despite the “First Time” Headline given to this recent incident by NBC NEWS, the amoeba has been seen here before, showing up in an untreated geothermal well used for drinking water in Arizona.
After the death in August, the Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals (DHH) asked the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for assistance due to the fact that they could not find a lab in the continental United States to test for the amoeba.
Only because of the related death, the CDC was able to test the water system for the amoeba. They also tested DeSoto Parish Waterworks District No. 1 because it was the site of one of two 2011 Naegleria fowleri-related deaths in Louisiana.
The (CDC) confirmed the presence of the rare Naegleria fowleri amoeba in five locations in DeSoto Parish Waterworks District No. one. Now we can see, this once rare amoeba is making its way into our public water systems.
One of the reasons Naegleria fowleri has not been found in other United States water systems is that it is simply not tested for. The Naegleria fowleri amoeba is a single-celled organism, a naturally occurring parasite that is found in freshwater and can only grow in a water system if the water is untreated or is venerable due to depleted chlorine. Free chlorine or chloramine residuals of 0.5 mg/L or higher will control the amoeba. St. Bernard Parish has flushed its water system with extra chlorine (known as a chlorine burn) to kill the amoeba. The DHH and local officials are now monitoring the chlorine levels on a regular basis.
The CDC web page on Naegleria fowleri has a link to “Amoeba Response Guidelines” from Australia. It turns out that Australia has had more experience with Naegleria fowleri than anyone. During the 1970s and ‘80s Australia had multiple deaths linked to swimming or having nasal exposure linked to contaminated drinking water.
More commonly linked to swimming, in the U.S. between 1963 and 2012 there were 128 known cases according to the CDC. Most of the cases were in Texas and Florida, having 31 and 33 respectively. In addition to the four-year-old, in 2013 a 12 year-old boy in LeBelle, Florida died about three weeks after contracting the infection, and a 12 year- old girl was infected near Benton, Arkansas in July. She survived and was released from the hospital on September 11th, 2013.
NOTE: You cannot be infected with Naegleria fowleri by drinking contaminated water. In very rare instances, Naegleria infections may also occur when contaminated water from other sources (such as inadequately chlorinated swimming pool water or contaminated tap water) enters the nose. (For example: when people submerge their heads or cleanse their noses during religious practices, and when people irrigate their sinuses (nose) using contaminated tap water.)
Ron Perrin Clean Water Tank Project 