Hello everyone,
We have been doing some digging (it almost feels like an archeological expedition) into the Aquatalk archives and finding some old articles that are relevant today. Way back when, we actually mailed out hard copies of an Aquatalk Newsletter each quarter. Today, we issue a blog article about once every two weeks. A prior version of this article ran in our Fall 2010 newsletter. Only a little modification/updating was needed for the present. We will periodically re-run some prior articles with updates. We hope you enjoy them.
We are all aware of the multiple barrier approach to protecting public health and providing safe drinking water. Adequate barriers to disease begin at the source water and continue through treatment, disinfection, storage and distribution. But none of these barriers are operated or maintained by themselves. I have been disturbed recently by the amount of advertising I have seen selling equipment or storage tanks as “maintenance free.” Is there really such a thing? I believe this kind of thinking does a disservice to the critical role operations and maintenance personnel serve in protecting public drinking water supplies.
Vigilant operators provide vital oversight to the actual operating status of the entire public drinking water system from source to tap in real time. Operators should be routinely monitoring all aspects of the system to ensure that everything is working as designed, and identifying and fixing problems that may arise. Operators monitor instrumentation that could show a potential water quality problem and take samples to verify that the water system is working properly and that the drinking water is safe. The instruments themselves need to be monitored and properly maintained and calibrated when appropriate.
Similarly, maintenance activities prevent equipment failures that could jeopardize water quality or lead to a catastrophic failure. Water systems need detailed equipment inventories and preventive maintenance programs to keep everything running smoothly. Of course, executing the maintenance program is then the key step to ensuring equipment is functioning within specified parameters, and performing its job in keeping drinking water flowing and safe. Proper maintenance also saves money.
I view the human element involved with operating and maintaining public drinking water systems as the most important public health protection barrier. All the sophisticated treatment systems and instrumentation in the world are insufficient without dedicated personnel to verify that said equipment is running properly each day, and taking care of the equipment and instruments with preventive maintenance to ensure it will be running properly tomorrow. Machines, instruments and “maintenance free” devices cannot think for themselves. They cannot truly evaluate and understand what is happening or may happen at a water system. It takes the eyes, ears, knowledge and instincts of operating and maintenance personnel to make sure that drinking water is safe, and will remain that way.
I would recommend thinking twice before buying something billed as “maintenance free.”
Thank you,
➽ Ron Falco, P.E. Safe Drinking Water Program Manager
