Common Problems in Water Treatment

Common Problems in Water Treatment

Water treatment issues are varied, and potential problems encountered within water systems is many, but a few tend to pop up more commonly than others.

The five most common problems in water treatment are:

Bacteria control
Equipment design and specification
Poor monitoring and record keeping
Maintenance problems
Training issues

All water is different, and many factors determine how your water looks, feels, smells and acts within your water applications and so it is important that a water treatment plan is in place.

Lets take a closer look at each problem in a little more detail.

Bacterial Control

Bacteria growth is most extensive under the following conditions:

The presence of food for the bacteria
Warm temperature
A low flow rate
The absence bacterial control solutions

Most micro-organisms feed on organic carbon-containing compounds, the ideal breeding temperature range for most water-born microorganisms is 30°- 40° (86-105°F); where the fastest growth occurs.

They grow best when a constant supply of food is bought in at a low flow rate, giving the bacteria time to breed and spread.

There are many types of bacterial growth which can occur, including legionella, E- coli & Pseudomonas which can be extremely dangerous and so must be controlled adequately.

Equipment design and control

It is vital that your water system is designed specifically to suit your sites’ requirements and building / facility mangers should understand the design specification in order to minimise problems.

Designs must include these components:

Conservative Water Flux Rates
Relatively High Cross-flow Rates
Sufficient instrumentation for adequate monitoring
Adequate cleaning facilityformation.

Poor monitoring and record keeping

A number of water treatment systems don’t have enough instrumentation to check all the parameters to catch problems at their most preventable or reversible stages.

Even if there are such parameters in place, many facilities don’t record the data correctly to allow them to see patterns to plan preventative procedures.

You may think if you have excellent feed water combined with an excellent membrane unit and pre-treatment design, that the system operates on its own and looks after itself, however, this is not the case and it is vital to monitor certain parameters.

With no records or monitoring, the performance of units will drop considerably causing issues with the pre-treatment required for production.

Maintenance problems

Poor maintenance of the water treatment facility can have serious implications for the performance.

Poor can result in increased costs, serious damage to systems and financial losses to the clients.

It is important to have continual maintenance processes in the water systems because:

Preventative maintenance schedule for changing the pre-filtration cartridges and bags helps prolong the life of the membranes within the system
Reduces the scaling and fouling of membranes
Money is saved because of reduction in down time of units because leaks are found and repaired faster
Clients can predict trends in flow and pressure and pure water quality to enable the best results through keeping detailed maintenance records

Training

Managing the water systems involves ongoing personnel training at every level within the team. Without the right training, teams are at risk of misunderstanding the needs and requirements of the water system which can lead to wrong information being passed to external contractors.

Personnel with advanced knowledge can provide on-the-job support to fill gaps in knowledge. This creates a better chance of problems being identified and resolved before they become more serious.

Conclusion

These common problems in water treatment can be solved through the expert management of facilities to protect the client and the facility itself from losses, damage and violations of regulations.

With the correct management of bacteria and maintenance, as well as excellent record keeping and monitoring and staff training, facilities can make maximise their equipment output and efficiency.

We provide a comprehensive list of services and training to ensure your water is safe. Contact us for more information.

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