High Performance Coatings Meet Stringent Standards At Iowa City Water Treatment Facility
Water & Wastes Digest
May 2003
Iowa City's population fluctuates regularly due to the arrival and departure of its college students during the year. As a result, water consumption and treatment fluctuate. The new water plant went online on March 7, 2003, designed to better serve Iowa City's growing population, to meet ever-increasing state and federal drinking water quality standards, and to improve the taste and odor of the water supply for the area's Hawkeye State citizens. The selection of protective coating systems was a critical consideration of Howard R. Green Company to ensure long-term corrosion protection and chemical resistance, and to enhance operation and maintenance efficiency.
How Grease-Lubricated Bearings Function
Pump Source
April 2003
A shielded, grease-lubricated ball bearing can be compared to a centrifugal pump having the ball-and-cage assembly as its impeller and the annulus between the stationary shield and the rotating inner race as the eye of the pump. Shielded bearings are not sealed bearings.
Intermittent Seal Leak in LPG Pump
Pump Source
April 2003
Sourav Kumar Chatterjee
The following case study describes a reliability problem with a Liquified Petroleum Gas (LPG) handling pump in a field and the way it was troubleshooted and fixed.
Focus On Troubleshooting Water Softeners
Water Quality Products
March 2003
Water Quality Products went in search of an expert to bring you the top troubleshooting tips for valves. The search led to Jay Runkle, employed in technical services at Pentair Water Treatment. According to Runkle, issues quickly can be sorted out if you know what to look for. Here are Runkle?s top 10 dilemmas, accompanied by probable causes and suggested antidotes.
PDF Version
Industrial Fouling
Water Quality Products
November 2002
Jan de Baat Doelman, Scalewatcher North America, Inc.
Look at the heating element of a washing machine or dishwasher in a hard water area and you will see a white encrustation containing hardness salts. This commonly is referred to as limescale and is an example of domestic fouling.
Industrial fouling poses a far greater problem than anything in the domestic sector. Huge volumes of fouled fluids are handled, and the systems that contain the fluids can become fouled as well. The quality of water streams used by industry varies widely and gives rise to numerous fouling problems.
PDF Version
Controlling Hospital Grease, Sludge Discharges
Water & Wastes Digest
September 2002
One of the major problem areas in St Petersburg, Florida has two hospitals and a nursing home that discharge to a common sewer line. Historically, the city had to clean this section of the sewer line at least four times a year to avoid blockages and sanitary sewer overflows. Working together, the city and one of the hospitals took action to control the discharge of grease from the hospital's facilities and to reduce the costs of maintenance for both the city and the hospital.
Keeping Meters On Line: Accurately Measuring Drinking Water and Sewage
Water Engineering & Management
September 2002
Rodney Johnson
Detroit Water & Sewerage Department (DWSD) has a high stake in keeping its flowmeters up and running with calibrated accuracy. This is especially true for its 278 wholesale water meters used in its vast network of distribution lines that serve 126 communities. It also is true for metering sewage inputs from wholesale customers for its Wastewater Treatment Plant. This article focuses on a unique answer that DWSD found for keeping its magnetic meters online by means of a portable electronic system that verifies and certifies calibration, all done in-line.
PDF Version
Concord, N.C. - A Proactive Approach to Beginning a CMOM-Based Program
Water Engineering & Management
August 2002
Ron Geiger, PE, and Todd Schuster
The federal government is in the process of establishing a CMOM philosophy for wastewater collection and treatment facilities that hinges on an aggressive, proactive approach, calling for utilities to act like investigative reporters rather than firefighters. Eventually, utility providers will have to follow federal CMOM guidelines, and states may establish similar guidelines.
PDF Version
Zinc Coatings on Handrail Tubing: A Comparative Analysis
Water Engineering & Management
August 2002
Philip G. Rahrig
When applying zinc metal to steel handrail tubing for corrosion protection, batch hot-dip galvanizing and in-line, continuous galvanizing are the two most common methods. Understanding the metallurgy, bond strength, corrosion mechanisms and testing of these two galvanizing methods may lead to better design decisions for particular applications.
PDF Version
Membranes: Fouling & Cleaning
Water Quality Products
May 2002
Bjarne Nicolaisen
Membrane technology offers the possibility of managing total water resources. The spiral wound membrane element configuration is the most widely used due to its high packing density and relatively low price. This article will describe some technological advances in the area of innovative new membranes and application concepts for spiral wound membrane elements.
PDF Version
Cutting Grease With Ongoing Monitoring and Maintenance
Water Engineering & Management
March 2002
James M. Russell
Grease is clogging sewers nationwide, creating a costly mess to clean up and a dilemma for officials and regulators. Recently, the Wall Street Journal reported that 75 percent of the sewer systems in the United States work at only half capacity because of grease clogs. The cost of keeping sewers open, a cost borne by taxpayers at a local level, is $25 billion per year. The increase in grease in sewer lines is a direct result of the phenomenal growth in dual-income households who choose to eat out or take-out rather than cook at home.
PDF Version
Minimizing Out-of-Service Time During Tank Painting
Water Engineering & Management
February 2002
Tank painting projects can cost many thousands of dollars, but often the most costly aspect of tank rehabilitation is having your tank out of service. What can be done to get your tank back in service sooner? One approach is to control the environment and minimize delays due to poor weather. Another is to use coatings that tolerate a wide range of climatic conditions and cure quickly at ambient temperature. By combining these methods, down-time can be greatly reduced.
PDF Version
RO Maintenance
Water Quality Products
January 2002
Nevin Rudie
Understanding and reacting to the performance of a reverse osmosis (RO) system is necessary for continued successful operation. It is this interaction that allows us to quickly and correctly identify and correct issues that may arise.
PDF Version
Utilities Rethink Failing Maintenance Strategies
Water Engineering & Management
November 2001
To ensure utilities achieve Quality of Service (QoS) targets in a cost-effective manner, Convergent Europe’s asset performance team has developed a unique reliability centered maintenance (RCM) practice designed to support utilities in transforming the effectiveness of asset management programs.
PDF Version
Pumping Up Big John
Water Quality Products
April 2001
Metropolitan Industries
The John Hancock building, located on Chicago’s Magnificent Mile, needed to revamp its entire pumping and reservoir system without shutting off water to the building’s residents.
PDF Version
Why Shouldn’t We Rebed This Ion Exchange Unit?
Water Quality Products
February 2001
William J. Koebel, ResinTech, Inc.
When approaching a rebed of an ion exchange unit it is important to determine if it is the best course of action, how you will remove the resin from the vessel and your plan to load the new resin.
PDF Version
Privatize Without a Contract
Water Engineering & Management
February 2001
Don Renner
The manner in which your plant performs its function and operation as well as the physical appearance of the plant and personnel often are perceived differently by the public and administrative leaders of the community than by the operating personnel.
PDF Version
From Eyesore to State-of-the-Art Facility: Pump Station Transformation
Water Engineering & Management
August 2000
Roger Frauenfelder, P.E.
What was formerly a contaminated auto wrecking yard that twice caught fire and was an eyesore to the local community is being transformed into a state-of-the-art pump station. This transformation not only resolves critical infrastructure needs but also is aesthetically pleasing.
To Maintain Or Not to Maintain
Water Engineering & Management
June 2000
Don Renner
There is little question that the majority of water/wastewater equipment requires some sort of periodic routine maintenance. The reason for maintenance is simply that replacements are costly and each piece of equipment has a rather long life expectancy.
Low-Tech Needle Strips Solve High-Profile Bird Problem
Water Engineering & Management
June 2000
As founder of American Maintenance Supply, Inc., an industrial wholesaler with headquarters in Canyon Country, Calif., Oswald Mercado knows a maintenance issue when he sees one. "Pigeon droppings are a major problem," he said.
The Challenge of Membrane Maintenance
Water Quality Products
February 2000
Peter Cartwright
The membrane processing technologies of microfiltration (MF), ultrafiltration (UF), nanofiltration (NF) and reverse osmosis (RO) are widely used to separate suspended and dissolved materials from water solutions in numerous industrial, medical and drinking water applications.
Portable Exchange D.I., Operating Primer, Part I
Water Quality Products
November 1999
Nevin Rudie
The following are some issues surrounding the operation of portable exchange deionization (PEDI), beginning with an explanation of what PEDI is through plant logistics and maintenance considerations.
| 
RSS: Roads & Bridges Articles
