Water Quality Testing in RO Systems – MyronLMeters.com

Tweet Water quality testing is vital to the design of an efficient, cost-effective RO system, and is one of the best ways to preserve system life and performance. Using an accurate Total Dissolved Solids (TDS) measurement to assess the system load prevents costly mistakes up front. The TDS measurement gives users the information they need [...]

Water quality testing is vital to the design of an efficient, cost-effective RO system, and is one of the best ways to preserve system life and performance.

Using an accurate Total Dissolved Solids (TDS) measurement to assess the system load prevents costly mistakes up front. The TDS measurement gives users the information they need to determine whether or not pretreatment is required and the type of membrane/s to select. Ultrameter™ and ULTRAPEN PT1™ Series TDS instruments feature the unique ability to select from 3 industry standard solution models: 442 Natural Water™ NaCl; and KCl. Choosing the model that most closely matches the characteristics of source water yields measurements accurate enough to check and calibrate TDS monitor/controllers that can help alert to system failures, reducing downtime and increasing productivity. The same instruments provide a fast and accurate test for permeate TDS quality control. Measuring concentrate values and analyzing quality trends lets users accurately determine membrane usage according to the manufacturer’s specifications so they can budget consumption correctly. These daily measurements are invaluable in detecting problems with system performance where changes in the ionic concentration of post-filtration streams can indicate scaling or fouling. System maintenance is generally indicated if there is either a 10-15% drop in performance or permeate quality as measured by TDS.

Thin-film composite membranes degrade when exposed to chlorine. In systems where chlorine is used for microbiological control, the chlorine is usually removed by carbon adsorption or sodium bisulfite addition before membrane filtration. The presence of any chlorine in such systems will at best reduce the life of the membrane, thus, a target of 0 ppm free chlorine in the feedwater is desirable.

ORP gives the operator the total picture of all chemicals in solution that have oxidizing or reducing potential including chlorine, bromine, chloramines, chlorine dioxide, peracetic acid, iodine, ozone, etc. However, ORP can be used to monitor and control free chlorine in systems where chlorine is the only sanitizer used. ORP over +300 mV is generally considered undesirable for membranes. Check manufacturer’s specifications for tolerable ORP levels.

An inline ORP monitor/controller placed ahead of the RO unit to automatically monitor for trends and breakthroughs coupled with spot checks by a portable instrument will prevent equipment damage and failure. Myron L 720 Series II™ ORP monitor/controllers can be configured with bleed and feed switches as well as visible and audible alarms.

Ultrameter and ULTRAPEN portable handhelds are designed for fast field testing and are accurate enough to calibrate monitor/controllers. Our measurement methods are objective and have superior accuracy and convenience when compared to colorimetric methods where determination of equivalence points is subjective and can be skewed by colored or turbid solutions.

Monitoring pH of the source water will allow users to make adjustments that optimize the performance of antiscalants, corrosion inhibitors and anti-foulants. Using a 720 II Series Monitor/controller to maintain pH along with an Ultrameter Series or ULTRAPEN PT2™ handheld to spot check pH values will reduce consumption of costly chemicals and ensure their efficacy.

Most antiscalants used in chemical system maintenance specify a Langelier Saturation Index maximum value. Some chemical manufacturers and control systems develop their own proprietary methods for determining a saturation index based on solubility constants in a defined system. However, LSI is still used as the predominant scaling indicator because calcium carbonate is present in most water. Using a portable Ultrameter III 9PTKA™ provides a simple method for determining LSI to ensure the chemical matches the application.

The Ultrameter III 9PTKA computes LSI from independent titrations of alkalinity and hardness along with electrometric measurements of pH and temperature. Using the 9PTKA LSI calculator, alterations to the water chemistry can be determined to achieve the desired LSI. Usually, pH is the most practical adjustment. If above 7, acid additions are made to achieve the pH value in the target LSI. Injections are made well ahead of the RO unit to ensure proper mixing and avoid pH hotspots. A Myron L 720 Series II pH Monitor/controller will automatically detect and divert solution with pH outside the range of tolerance for the RO unit. ULTRAPEN PT2, TechPro II and Ultrameter Series instruments can be used to spot check and calibrate the monitor/controller as part of routine maintenance and to ensure uniform mixing.

Water hardness values indicate whether or not ion exchange beds are required in pretreatment. Checking hardness values directly after the softening process with the Ultrameter III 9PTKA ensures proper functioning and anticipates the regeneration schedule.

Alkalinity is not only important in its effect on the scaling tendency of solution, but on pH maintenance. Additions of lime are used to buffer pH during acid injection. Use a 9PTKA to measure alkalinity values for fast field analysis where other instrumentation is too cumbersome to be practical.

Though testing and monitoring pressure is a good way to evaluate system requirements and performance over time, measuring other water quality parameters can help pinpoint problems when troubleshooting. For example, if the pressure differential increases over the second stage, the most likely cause is scaling by insoluble salts. This means that any degradation in performance is likely due to the dissolved solids in the feed. Using a 9PTKA to evaluate LSI and calculate parameter adjustments is a simple way to troubleshoot a costly problem.

Myron L Meters saves you 10% on all Ultrameters and Ultrapens when you order online at MyronLMeters.com, where you can find the complete selection of Myron L meters, including the Ultrameter III 9PTKA.

Original story from International Filtration News V 32, no. 2

 

Myron L Meters Water Industry Resources – MyronLMeters.com

TweetSoon Myron L Meters will be adding a Water Industry Resources page to MyronLMeters.com.  The page will feature links to water industry events, water industry associations, and related technical resources.  Please look over our draft page below and  suggest anything we might be missing. Be sure to check back with us periodically for new features [...]

Soon Myron L Meters will be adding a Water Industry Resources page to MyronLMeters.com.  The page will feature links to water industry events, water industry associations, and related technical resources.  Please look over our draft page below and  suggest anything we might be missing. Be sure to check back with us periodically for new features and changes, including our upcoming Myron L Meters Users Forum.

Myron L Meters Water Industry Resources

 Blog

http://blog.myronlmeters.com/

 

Manuals and MSDS

http://www.myronlmeters.com/Articles.asp?ID=263

 

Video Channel

http://www.youtube.com/myronlmeters

 

Application Bulletins

https://www.myronlmeters.com/Articles.asp?ID=265

 

Users Group

 

Water Industry News

http://waterindustrynews.com/

 

Pinterest

http://pinterest.com/myronlmeters/boards/

 

Twitter

https://twitter.com/MyronLMeters

 

Water Science and Conservation

 

Water Conservation News - Science Daily

http://www.sciencedaily.com/news/earth_climate/water/

 

U.S. Department of the Interior | Bureau of Reclamation

http://www.usbr.gov/WaterSMART/

 

Environmental Protection Agency

http://www2.epa.gov/science-and-technology/water-science

 

Clean Water Network

http://www.cleanwaternetwork.org/

 

Soil and Water Conservation Society

http://www.swcs.org/

 

Partnership for Water Conservation

http://www.partners4water.org/

 

Nature Conservancy Conservation Gateway

http://www.conservationgateway.org/Pages/default.aspx

 

 

Water Products Suppliers

 

Pumps:                                  PulsafeederPumps

                                             http://www.pulsafeederpumps.com/

 

Storage Tanks:                       PeabodyStorageTanks

                                             http://www.peabodystoragetanks.com/Default.asp

 

Water Industry Events
Apr 14 – Apr 18, 2013

Miscellaneous | Miscellaneous

23th Annual Practical Membrane / Filtration & Separations Technologies Short Course

College Station, TX
Apr 16 – Apr 18, 2013

AWWA Section | Section Conference

New York Section 2013 Annual Conference

Saratoga Springs, NY
Apr 16 – Apr 18, 2013

Miscellaneous | Seminar

HEC-HMS

Chicago, IL
Apr 22 – Apr 24, 2013

AWWA | Seminar

SOLD OUT Financial Management Seminar, San Diego, California

San Diego, CA
Apr 23 – Apr 25, 2013

AWWA Section | Section Conference

Pennsylvania Section 2013 Annual Conference

Hershey, PA
Apr 25 – Apr 25, 2013

Miscellaneous | Miscellaneous

Native Landscape Design for Stormwater

Milwaukee, WI
Apr 29 – May 02, 2013

AWWA Section | Annual Meeting

Alaska Section 2013 Annual Conference

Anchorage, AK
May 01 – May 03, 2013

AWWA Section | Section Conference

Arizona Section 2013 Annual Conference

Glendale, AZ
May 06 – May 07, 2013

Miscellaneous | Miscellaneous

17th Annual Water Reuse & Desalination Research Conference

Phoenix, AZ
May 06 – May 08, 2013

Miscellaneous | Speciality Conferences

2013 ABPA Education Conference & Trade Show

Phoenix, AZ
May 06 – May 10, 2013

Miscellaneous | Miscellaneous

2013 West Regional Conference

Seattle, WA
May 07 – May 09, 2013

AWWA Section | Annual Meeting

Montana Section 2013 Annual Conference

Great Falls, MT
May 07 – May 07, 2013

Miscellaneous | Speciality Conferences

SCMA SWAT Training For Operators Workshop

Granbury, TX
May 08 – May 10, 2013

AWWA Section | Annual Meeting

Hawaii Section 2013 Annual Conference

Honolulu, HI

 

May 08 – May 10, 2013

AWWA Section | Section Conference

Pacific Northwest Section 2013 Annual Conference

Spokane, WA
May 08 – May 10, 2013

Miscellaneous | Seminar

Inspection and Assessment of Dams

Seattle, WA
May 09 – May 09, 2013

Miscellaneous | Miscellaneous

Watershed Planning – Putting the Pieces Together

Milwaukee, WI
May 09 – May 09, 2013

Miscellaneous | Miscellaneous

Smart Water for Smart Cities – A Workshop

Ellicot City, MD
May 09 – May 09, 2013

Miscellaneous | Speciality Conferences

SCMA I Scream, You Scream, We All Scream For Membranes Workshop

Tuttle, OK
May 16 – May 17, 2013

Miscellaneous | Annual Meeting

Water and Agriculture

Palos Verdes, CA
May 19 – May 22, 2013

AWWA Section | Section Conference

West Virginia Section 2013 Annual Conference

Daniels, WV
May 20 – May 20, 2013

Miscellaneous | Speciality Conferences

AMTA/SEDA Joint Technology Transfer Workshop “Application of Membrane Technologies in the Chesapeake Region”

Chesapeake, VA
May 21 – May 23, 2013

Miscellaneous | Miscellaneous

Appalachian Underground Corrosion Short Course (AUCSC 2013)

Morgantown, WV
May 22 – May 24, 2013

AWWA Section | Annual Meeting

Connecticut Section 2013 Annual Conference

Saratoga Springs, NY
May 30 – May 30, 2013

Miscellaneous | Miscellaneous

Water Law for Sustainable Management

Milwaukee, WI
Jun 09 – Jun 13, 2013

AWWA | Annual Meeting

2013 Annual Conference & Exposition

Denver, CO
Jun 24 – Jun 25, 2013

Miscellaneous | Speciality Conferences

2013 AWRA Summer Specialty Conference Environmental Flows

Hartford, CT
Jul 09 – Jul 10, 2013

AWWA | Speciality Conferences

NWMOA MBR Operator Training Workshop

Pendleton, OR
Aug 04 – Aug 04, 2013

Miscellaneous | Annual Meeting

Association of Clean Water Administrators

Sante Fe, NM
Sep 08 – Sep 12, 2013

Miscellaneous | Speciality Conferences

Dam Safety 2013

Providence, RI
Sep 09 – Sep 12, 2013

AWWA Section | Annual Meeting

Virginia Section 2013 Annual Conference

Richmond, VA
Sep 10 – Sep 13, 2013

AWWA Section | Section Conference

Michigan Section 2013 Annual Conference

Lansing, MI
Sep 11 – Sep 13, 2013

AWWA Section | Section Conference

Intermountain Section AWWA

Sun Valley, Idaho
Sep 15 – Sep 18, 2013

Miscellaneous | Symposium

North American Membrane Society 23rd Annual Meeting

Denver
Sep 15 – Sep 18, 2013

Miscellaneous | Symposium

28th Annual WateReuse Symposium

Denver, Colorado
Sep 15 – Sep 18, 2013

AWWA | Speciality Conferences

2013 DSS/Emergency Preparedness and Security Conf.

Itasca, IL
Sep 22 – Sep 25, 2013

Miscellaneous | Annual Meeting

World Congress 2013

Las Vegas, NV
Sep 23 – Sep 25, 2013

Miscellaneous | Annual Meeting

NWMOA 1st Annual Symposium – “Getting the Best from Your Membrane Treatment Plant”

Vancouver, WA
Sep 29 – Oct 03, 2013

Miscellaneous | Speciality Conferences

84th Annual Education and Business Conference

Kansas City, MO
Oct 01 – Oct 03, 2013

Miscellaneous | Speciality Conferences

NRWA WaterPro Conference

Seattle, WA
Oct 02 – Oct 04, 2013

Miscellaneous | Speciality Conferences

6th WaterSmart Innovations Conference and Exposition

Las Vegas, NV
Oct 13 – Oct 15, 2013

AWWA Section | Section Conference

Alabama-Mississippi Annual Conference

Tunica Resorts, MS
Nov 03 – Nov 07, 2013

AWWA | Speciality Conferences

2013 Water Quality Technology Conference

Long Beach, CA
Nov 04 – Nov 08, 2013

Miscellaneous | Miscellaneous

2013 Irrigation Show & Education Conference

Austin

 

 

Water Industry Associations

 

American Fisheries Society

2. The Chlorine Institute
3. Conservation International
4. Environmental Assessment Association
5. Environmental Council of the States
6. Environmental Law Institute
7. The Groundwater Foundation
8. Ground Water Protection Council
9. Institute of Professional Environmental Practice

10.Irrigation Association

11.NARUC Committee on Water

12.National Association of Conservation Districts

13.National Association of Counties

14.National Association of Environmental Professionals

15.National Association of Pipe Fabricators

16.National Association of Water Companies

17.National Council for Science and the Environment

18.National Drinking Water Clearinghouse

19.National Drought Mitigation Center

20.National Federation of Municipal Analysts

21.National Fire Protection Association

22.National Ground Water Association
National Institute for the Environment

23.National Institutes for Water Resources

24.National Rural Water Association

25.National Small Flows Clearinghouse

26.National Water Research Institute - Canada.

27.National Water Resources Association

28.Renewable Natural Resources Foundation

29.Soil and Water Conservation Society

30.State Water Resources Research Institutes

31.Water and Wastewater Equipment Manufacturers Association

 

 

American Filtration and Separations Society (AFS)
The premier organization in North America dedicated to R&D, problem solutions and technology transfer in fluid-particle separation for the benefit of industrial processes, individual health and a clean environment.

 

American Ground Water Trust is a nonprofit educational organization dedicated to promoting efficient and effective ground water management and provides educational information about ground water issues that are important to well owners.www.agwt.org

 

American Institute of Hydrology

 

American Public Works Association

 

American Society of Irrigation Consultants

 

American Water Resources Association

 

American Water Works Association (AWWA)

 

Association of Metropolitan Water Agencies

 

Association of Metropolitan Sewerage Agencies

 

Association of State Drinking Water Administrators

 

Association of State and Interstate Water Pollution Control Administrators

 

Association of Water Technologies

 

AWWA Research Foundation

California Water Operators Association (CWOA)
A professional association dedicated to helping water and wastewater operators in California thru education, public policy, wages, benefits, training.

Caribbean Water and Wastewater Association (CWWA)
The CWWA encourages the study, research and development in water supply and wastewater disposal, and the publication of the results of such work, so as to provide for appropriate and dynamic technological advances in the Caribbean.

Florida Water and Pollution Control Operators Association, Region 8
One of the leading water and wastewater professional training organizations in Florida for over 5,000 professionals that work in the public, private and government utilities.

Instrument Society of America (ISA)
The international society for measurement, control, instrumentation and automation.

 

International Bottled Water Association is the authoritative source of information about all types of bottled waters.

www.bottledwater.org

Regional Bottled Water Associations:
NEBWA – Northeastern Bottled Water Association
SEBWA – Southeastern Bottled Water Association
MABWA – Mid-America Bottled Water Association
CSBWA – Central States Bottled Water Association
NWBWA – Northwestern Bottled Water Association
CBWA – Canadian Bottled Water Association

International Private Water Association (IPWA)
Promoting private sector participation in water utilities.

The Irrigation Association (IA)
Formed more than 50 years ago to improve the products and practices used to manage water resources and to help shape the worldwide business environment of the irrigation industry.

Kentucky Water & Wastewater Operators Association (KWWOA)
A not-for-profit association organized in the fall of 1958.  The KWWOA was created by a group of operators from the drinking and wastewater industry.

Maine Lagoon Systems
The mission of the Maine Lagoon Systems website is to promote clean water resources through the enhanced communication of wastewater lagoon system operators in the state of Maine and beyond.

Maine Wastewater Control Association (MWCA)
An association of over 650 members consisting of municipal and industrial operators, consultants, students, and regulatory officials. The purpose is to facilitate communication of ideas and the preservation of Maine’s waterways.

Measurement, Control and Automation Association   (MCAA)

NAWC (National Association of Water Companies)

http://www.nawc.org/

 

National Ground Water Association (NGWA) is a trade association for ground water professionals including well drillers, pump installers, geologists and other scientists to promote responsible development, use and management of ground water resources. www.ngwa.org

 

National Institute for the Environment

 

National Institutes for Water Resources

 

National Rural Water Association
National Small Flows Clearinghouse
Helping America’s small communities meet their wastewater needs.

 

National Water Research Institute - Canada.

 

National Water Resources Association
Northeast Rural Water Association (NeRWA)
Started in 1982, a nonprofit association of water and wastewater systems in Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Vermont. Among its many services, We offer training and onsite technical assistance to operators, managers, owners and boards.

South Carolina Rural Water Association (SCRWA)
Providing free training to water and wastewater operators in South Carolina, through cooperative agreements with NRWA and USEPA. Offering vendors opportunities to network with utility companies in our state. Offering utilities assistance with water & wastewater issues from an operational to a managerial level.

 

Water and Wastewater Equipment Manufacturers Association

http://www.wwema.org/

Water Design-Build Council (WDBC)
The Water Design-Build Council supports the development and rehabilitation of the nation’s municipal water and wastewater systems by using the design-build project delivery method.  Our mission is to promote best practices for design-build to facilitate productive and collaborative relationships between service providers and governments.

 

Water Education Foundation

 

Water Environment Federation (WEF)
Founded in 1928, the Water Environment Federation (WEF) is a not-for-profit technical and educational organization with members from varied disciplines who work toward the WEF vision of preservation and enhancement of the global water environment.

 

Water Environment Research Foundation

 

Water Environment WEB - Water Environment Federation

 

Water Industry Council

 

Water Organizations - [UWIN]

 

Water Quality Association (WQA)
A not-for-profit international trade association representing the residential, commercial, industrial, and small community water treatment industry. WQA maintains a close dialogue with other organizations representing different aspects of the water industry in order to best serve consumers, government officials, and industry members.

 

 

 

Regional Water Quality Associations:
EWQA – Eastern Water Quality Association
FWQA – Florida Water Quality Association
Missouri WQA – Missouri Water Quality Association
PWQA – Pacific Water Quality Association
TWQA – Texas Water Quality Association

 

 

 

Water Utility Benchmarking Association

 

The Watershed Management Council

 

Industry Publications:

Water Quality Products
www.wqpmag.com

Water Technology
www.watertechonline.com

Water Conditioning and Purification
www.wcponline.com

Food Processing Magazine
www.foodprocessing.com

ALN Magazine
www.alnmag.com

The Bottled Water Reporter
www.ibwa.org

 

Journal of Hydroinformatics

Journal of Water and Health

Journal of Water and Climate Change

Journal of Water Reuse and Desalination

Journal of Water Sanitation and Hygiene for Development

Journal of Water Supply: Research and Technology-AQUA

Hydrology Research

Water21

Water Asset Management International

Water Practice and Technology

Water Policy

Water Quality Research Journal of Canada

Water Research

Water Science and Technology

Water Science and Technology: Water Supply

 

Water Systems Council is a national nonprofit organization focused solely on household wells and small water well systems.

www.watersystemscouncil.org

Water Utility Management International

Water Intelligence Online
Government Information Sources

EPA Safe Drinking Water Act List of Primary and Secondary Contaminants, Health Effects, and Sources:

www.epa.gov/safewater/mcl.html

 

US Water Partnership: Department of State

http://www.state.gov/e/oes/rls/fs/2012/186581.htm

 

US Department of the Interior: Water Challenges

http://www.doi.gov/whatwedo/water/index.cfm

 

US Army Corps of Engineers: Water Resources Development

http://www.usace.army.mil/About/History/BriefHistoryoftheCorps/WaterResourcesDevelopment.aspx

 

Water Resources of the United States
http://water.usgs.gov

 

USGS Water Data for the Nation
http://waterdata.usgs.gov/nwis

 

National Water Quality Assessment Program
http://water.usgs.gov/nawqa/

 

US Bureau of Reclamation
http://www.usbr.gov

 

United States Environmental Protection Agency Water Resources
http://water.epa.gov

 

National Climatic Data Center
http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/

 

National Water and Climate Center
http://www.wcc.nrcs.usda.gov/

 

US Drought Portal
http://www.drought.gov/drought/

 

CDC Healthy Water Portal
http://www.cdc.gov/healthywater/

 

 

Water Industry Training

 

Water Industry Whitepapers and Information

NAWC

http://www.nawc.org/knowledge-center/documents-and-publications/all-document.aspx

 

The Water and Wastewater Online Training Center is a virtual campus providing quality and targeted online training to meet the information needs of the water and wastewater treatment professional.

http://www.waterandwastewater.com/online_training/

 

Texas A&M Engineering Extension Service (Water and Wastewater)

http://www.teex.org/teex.cfm?pageid=EUprog&area=EU&templateid=1268

 

EPA Small Water Systems Training & Technical Assistance Grant

NO-COST EPA Safe Drinking Water Act Training

http://teexweb.tamu.edu/teex-third.cfm?area=EU&templateid=478

 

The Office of Water Programs at the California State University, Sacramento, College of Engineering and Computer Science provides distance learning courses for persons interested in the operation and maintenance of drinking water and wastewater facilities.

http://www.owp.csus.edu/courses/catalog.php

 

Kansas Basics Course for Small Public Drinking Water Systems

http://www.waterhelp.org/ks/kdhe/

 

WEF offers online education and webcasts here:

http://www.wef.org/onlineeducation/default.aspx

 

Water Industry Training Specialists are a California Corporation in the business of training and certifying Backflow Technicians and Cross-Connection Control Inspectors. 

https://www.backflowschool.com/

 

Environmental-Expert.com hosts several courses from different companies in industrial wastewater, water treatment, and environmental engineering.

http://www.environmental-expert.com/training/keyword-industrial-wastewater-182

 

Plumbing Engineer

http://www.plumbingengineer.com/white.php

 

Bitpipe.com

http://www.bitpipe.com/tlist/Utilities-Industry.html

 

Water-Technology.net

http://www.water-technology.net/downloads/whitepapers/

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pool Draining Tips to Protect Water Quality – MyronLMeters.com

TweetMyronLMeters.com has the most advanced lineup of pool analysis meters for the professional pool maintenance technician from the Ultrapen to the PoolPro PS9. Pool Draining Tips to Protect Water Quality With summer right around the corner, many swimming pool owners will be readying their swimming pools in anticipation of the season’s heat. As part of [...]

MyronLMeters.com has the most advanced lineup of pool analysis meters for the professional pool maintenance technician from the Ultrapen to the PoolPro PS9.

Pool Draining Tips to Protect Water Quality

With summer right around the corner, many swimming pool owners will be readying their swimming pools in anticipation of the season’s heat. As part of this process, some pool owners like to drain old swimming pool water which has been sitting all winter. Though not a necessary task, the following tips are provided for you to properly drain pool water in order to protect the water resources in your community.

Whenever possible, it is best to drain your pool onto your landscape. This recycles your pool water, conserves irrigation water, and avoids the environmental risks associated with draining your pool to the street. Before draining your pool water to the street or to your landscape, be sure to follow the guidelines outlined below.

While draining pool water to the street is a common practice, it can prove harmful to the environment if the pool owner does not properly plan and prepare prior to draining. When pool water is drained to the street, it can carry other pollutants such as oil, grease, sediment, bacteria and trash down the storm drain and into the nearest creek, river, or the ocean. Swimming pool water also often contains harmful additives and chemicals. If the water is not properly treated to remove these pollutants prior to draining, they can cause further damage to the health of our waterways and to the plants and animals that live there.

Also, prior to draining to the street, residents are asked to sweep the curb and gutter between the discharge point from their yard to the storm drain down hill from their home. This will remove any pollutants from the gutter that may be carried up by the drained pool water to the storm drain.

For chlorine pools, chlorine levels must be lowered to less than 1 part per million prior to draining. This can be done naturally, by simply allowing the pool water to sit in the sun for a minimum of three days. Alternatively, de-chlorination kits can be purchased at home supply stores at a very reasonable cost. These kits have the tools you need to reach the appropriate chlorine levels before draining your pool to the curb and gutter.

Some people have salt water pool systems which may be preferred due to the lower amount of chemicals required for their operation. However, these pools must not be drained to the storm drain system due to their high salt content relative to the fresh water systems they drain into. Total dissolved solids (TDS) must be below 500 parts per million in order to drain into the street.

“Green pools,” which are pools in which algae is growing, also must not be drained to the street. In these instances, algae must first be killed and removed. This is usually done by chlorinating the swimming pool until the algae is gone, then lowering chlorine to the allowable discharge level. Cartridge filters or diatomaceous earth (DE) filters should be rinsed onto a pervious surface such as landscaped areas or grass. While DE is actually beneficial in your garden, it can build up in storm drains and clog them. DE residues can be scooped up and simply thrown in the trash or put to use fending off worms in your garden.

For more information on how to reach acceptable chemical and TDS levels, call your pool maintenance specialist.

If you are a pool maintenance specialist, consider the PoolPro PS9TKA from MyronLMeters.com – the most advanced and comprehensive pool water analysis meter on the market.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pool Pro PS9TK

Measures 9 Parameters: Conductivity, Mineral/Salts, TDS, Alkalinity, Hardness, LSI, pH, ORP/Free Chlorine, Temperature
LSI Calculator for hypothetical water balance calculations
Wireless data transfer capability with bluDock option
Auto-ranging delivers increased resolution across diverse applications
Adjustable Temperature Compensation and Cond/TDS conversion ratios for user-defined solutions
Nonvolatile memory of up to 100 readings for stored data protection
Date & time stamp makes record-keeping easy
pH calibration prompts alert you when maintenance is required
Auto-off minimizes energy consumption
Low battery indicator
(Includes instrument with case and solutions)

Screening and evaluation of innate coagulants for water treatment: a sustainable approach – MyronLMeters.com

TweetAbstract Access to safe drinking water is important as a health and development issue at national, regional, and local levels. About one billion people do not have healthy drinking water. More than six million people (about two million children) die because of diarrhea which is caused by polluted water. Developing countries pay a high cost [...]

Abstract

Application Bulletin: POOL & SPA Water – MyronLMeters.com

Tweet                 Anyone responsible for operating and maintaining a swimming pool or spa has to test, monitor, and control complex, interdependent chemical factors that affect the quality of water. Additionally, aquatic facilities operators must be familiar with all laws, regulations, and guidelines governing what these parameters should be. [...]

SALTWATER SANITATION

A relatively new development, saltwater pools use regular salt, sodium chloride, to form chlorine with an electrical current much in the same way liquid bleach is made. As chlorine – the sanitizer – is made from the salt in the water, it is critical to maintain the salt concentration at the appropriate levels to produce an adequate level of sanitizer. It is even more important to test water parameters frequently in these types of pools and spas, as saltwater does not have the ability to respond adequately to shock loadings (superchlorination treatments).

Most saltwater chlorinators require a 2,500 – 3,000 ppm salt concentration in the water (though some may require as high as 5,000-7,000 ppm).* This can barely be tasted, but provides enough salt for the system to produce the chlorine needed to sanitize the water.

(It is important to have a good stabilizer level – 30 – 50 ppm* – in the pool, or the sunlight will burn up the chlorine. Without it, the saltwater system may not be able to keep up with the demand regardless of salt concentration.)

Taste and salt shortages are of little concern to seawater systems that maintain an average of 32,000 ppm. In these high-salt environments, you need to beware of corrosion to system components that can distort salt level and other parameter readings.

Additionally, incorrect salt concentration readings can occur in any saltwater system. The monitoring/controlling components can and do fail or become scaled— sometimes giving a false low salt reading. Thus, you must test manually for salt concentration with separate instrumentation before adding salt.

You must also test salt concentration manually with separate instrumentation to re-calibrate your system. This is critical to system functioning and production of required chlorine. Both the PoolPro and PT1 conveniently test for salt concentration at the press of a button as a check against automatic controller systems that may have disabled equipment or need to be re-calibrated.

Though no one instrument or method can be used to determine ALL of the factors that affect the comfort and sanitation of pool and spa water, PoolPro is a comprehensive water testing instrument that is reliable durable, easy-to-use and easy-to-maintain and calibrate. As a pool professional, a PoolPro will not only simplify your life, it will save you time and money.

 RECORD KEEPING – WHAT TO DO WITH ALL THOSE MEASUREMENTS …

Data handling should be done objectively, and data recorded in a common format in the most accurate way. Also, data should be stored in more than one permanent location and made available for future analysis. Most municipalities require commercial aquatic facilities to keep permanent records on site and available for inspection at any time.

PoolPro makes it easy to comply with record keeping requirements. The PoolPro is an objective means to test free chlorine, ORP, pH, TDS, temperature and the mineral/salt content of any pool or spa. You just rinse and fill the cell cup by submerging the waterproof unit and press the button of the parameter you wish to measure. You immediately get a standard, numerical digital readout –  no interpretation required – eliminating all subjectivity. And model PS9TK features the added ability to perform in-cell conductometric titrations for Alkalinity, Hardness and LSI on the spot. Up to 100 date-time-stamped readings can be stored in memory and then later transferred directly to a computer wirelessly using the bluDock™ accessory package. Simply pair the bluDock with your computer, then open the U2CI software application to download data. The user never touches the data, reducing the potential for human error in transcription. The data can then be imported into any program necessary for record-keeping and analysis. The bluDock is a quick and easy way to keep records that comply with governing standards.*

*Consult your governing bodies for specific testing, chemical concentrations, and all other guidelines and requirements. The ranges and methods suggested here are meant as general examples.

Save 10% when you order online here at MyronLMeters.com.

Coming in 2013: The Myron L PoolPro PS9TK – MyronLMeters.com

Tweet                            For Pool Professionals The PoolPro is a comprehensive high performance tool designed to simplify pool and spa water quality control for the pool professional. Both PoolPro models – the PS6 and the PS9TK feature innovative user-friendly features and functions that make [...]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

For Pool Professionals

The PoolPro is a comprehensive high performance tool designed to simplify pool and spa water quality control for the pool professional. Both PoolPro models – the PS6 and the PS9TK feature innovative user-friendly features and functions that make it easy to manage parameters critical to disinfection, water balance, system maintenance and compliance.

New! Fce FAC Readings

FCE function reports FAC quickly and accurately by measuring ORP, the chemical characteristic of chlorine that directly reflects its effectiveness, cross referenced with pH. Both DPD kits and colorimeters may tell the user the FAC value of the sample in the test tube, but since the chemistry of that sample is quite different from the source water being analyzed, the results are imprecisely related to actual disinfection power.

FCE function measures the real, unaltered chemistry of source water, including moment-to-moment changes in that chemistry.

FCE can be used for other types of oxidizing germicides and will track the effect of additives, such as cyanuric acid, that degrade chlorine effectively without changing the actual concentration of free available chlorine present.

In-Cell Titration Functions

The PS9TK adds the ability to perform in-cell conductometric titrations that provides a convenient way to determine alkalinity, hardness and LSI in the field. This eliminates the need to collect and transport samples to another location for analysis. User intuitive display prompts guide you through titration procedures from start to finish. All required reagents and equipment are included in the PS9 titration kit.

Water Balance Analysis

The PS9TK features both an LSI Calculator and an LSI Titration measurement mode. The Calculator allows you to perform what-if scenarios to predict how changes in solution parameters would affect the water balance of a system. The titration measurement function allows you to accurately calculate a saturation index value of a specific solution to determine whether the solution is balanced, scaling or corrosive.

Hardness Unit Conversion The Hardness and LSI Titrations and LSI Calculator functions allow you to set the hardness unit preference to either grains of hardness or ppm CaCO3 according to your needs.

System Validation & Calibration

The PoolPro provides a fast, precise, easy-to-use method of obtaining Oxidation Reduction Potential (ORP or REDOX) mV readings to check the true level of effectiveness of ALL sanitizers in any pool or spa. ORP objectively and precisely measures sanitizer ability to burn up, or oxidize, organic matter in the water. ORP can only be determined by an electronic instrument.

PoolPro ORP mV readings serve as a necessary check to ensure automatic ORP control systems are working properly. PoolPro also provides independent readings for recalibration and to detect system failure.

Saltwater Chlorine Generation

PoolPro provides a convenient one-touch test for Mineral/Salt concentration. This is ideal for saltwater systems where manual testing with separate instrumentation is necessary to ensure the proper amount of sodium chloride is present for chlorine generation in quantities specified for microbial disinfection. PoolPro can also be used to recalibrate equipment as part of regular maintenance.

Wireless Benefits

The optional bluDock™ accessory package is an integrated data solution for your record keeping requirements, eliminating the need for additional hardware, wires and hassle. Because the user never touches the data, there is little opportunity for data tampering and human error. bluDock software has an easy to use interface with user intuitive functions for storing, sorting and exporting data.

Simply the Best

PoolPro is lightweight, portable, buoyant, waterproof, easy-to-calibrate, and easy-to-use. Simply rinse and fill the cell cup by dipping the PoolPro in the water, then press the button of the parameter you wish to measure. You immediately get a standard, numerical digital readout — eliminating all subjectivity. And you can store up to 100 date-time-stamped readings in PoolPro’s non-volatile memory.

Watch for the product launch later this year.

 

Reverse osmosis biofouling: Impact of feed channel spacer and biofilm development in spacer-filled channels – MyronLMeters.com

TweetIntroduction Water desalination via reverse osmosis (RO) technology provides a solution to the world’s water shortage problem. Until now, the production of fresh water from seawater has reached 21-million cubic meter per day all around the world (Wangnick, 2005). However, the success of RO technology is subject to improvement as the technology is challenged by [...]

Introduction

Water desalination via reverse osmosis (RO) technology provides a solution to the world’s water shortage problem. Until now, the production of fresh water from seawater has reached 21-million cubic meter per day all around the world (Wangnick, 2005). However, the success of RO technology is subject to improvement as the technology is challenged by a biofouling problem –a problem related to biological material development which forms a sticky layer on the membrane surface (Flemming, 1997; Baker and Dudley, 1998).

Continuous biofouling problems in RO lead to higher energy input requirement as an effect of increased biofilm resistance (Rf) and biofilm enhanced osmotic pressure (BEOP), lower quality of product water due to concentration polarization (CP) – increased concentration due to solutes accumulation on the membrane surface, (Herzberg and Elimelech, 2007), and thus significant increase in both operating and maintenance costs.

Recent studies and objectives

Recent studies show the importance of the operating conditions (e.g. flux and cross flow velocities) in RO biofouling. The presence of feed channel spacers has also been getting more attention as it may have adverse effects. A previous study (Chong et al., 2008) without feed channel spacers showed that RO biofouling was a flux driven process where higher flux increased fouling rate. It was also shown that biofouling caused a BEOP effect due to elevated CP of solutes at the membrane surface, thus resulted in loss of driving force. The BEOP effect was more severe at high flux and low crossflow operation.

In another recent study (Vrouwenvelder et al., 2009a) involving feed channel spacers suggested that flux did not affect fouling and biofouling was more severe when the crossflow velocity was higher. However, these studies were conducted on river water at low level of salinity and under no/very low flux conditions, which may suggested that BEOP effect was not observed in the above studies. These contradictory observations relating to the biofouling process in RO need to be systematically addressed as it is critical to understand the mechanism for sustainable operation of RO technology.

The objective of this study was to observe the impact of spacer towards RO biofouling as well as to investigate the development of biofilm in a spacer filled channel. The experiments were conducted at constant flux and biofouling was observed by the increase of transmembrane pressure (TMP). Observation with confocal light scanning microscope (CLSM) method was conducted to the fouled membrane and spacers to provide information of biofilm development inside the membrane module.

Materials and methods

A lab-scale set-up was arranged to resemble the real RO operation where experiments were performed with elevated salinity, high pressure, imposed flux, and permeation. The schematic diagram of the set-up is depicted in Figure 1. It is a fully-recycled system with two identical RO modules running in series. Feed solution contained constant amounts NaCl and nutrient broth (NB) to provide sufficient TOC level.

The study was conducted in the constant flux mode and biofouling was measured via the rise in TMP. A mass-flow controller was installed at the permeate side to maintain the amount of permeate withdrawn. A bacteria solution was injected into the system before the feed solution entered the RO modules and a set of microfilters (5 μm and 0.2 μm) were installed at downstream to prevent excess bacteria from entering the feed tank and turning the feed tank into an “active bioreactor”.

Model bacteria Pseudomonas aeruginosa (PAO1) was used in the experiment. Bacteria stock solution used in the biofouling tests was prepared in batch and the stock solution was replenished every 24 hours. Bacteria were grown in mixture of NB and NaCl solution where they were harvested after 24 hours and diluted into autoclaved salt solution. The concentration of bacteria was controlled and measured by optical density (OD) using UV spectrophotometer at 600 nm. Batch prepared bacteria stock solution has some advantages over using continuous feed from a chemostat (Chong et al., 2008). A more consistent and fresh bacteria load and without excess nutrient was introduced into the system as nutrient content was completely removed in the harvesting step.

Prior to every experiment, cut RO membranes (DOW Filmtec, BW-30) were soaked in Milli-Q water and sterilized in 70% ethanol solution. Similar pretreatment procedures were applied to membrane support layers and feed channel spacers prior every experiment. The spacers used in the experiments are obtained from unused Hydranautics LFC-1 spiral wound module (Figure 2).

The membranes were compacted at a maximum flux (~65 L/m2.h) overnight with Milli-Q water until a stable flux was achieved. Following compaction, the flux was set to the desired values and NaCl solution was added into the feed tank until the desired concentration was achieved. The system was let to mix for 1.5 hours. NB solution was then added into the feed tank to provide an average background nutrient concentration of 6.5 mg/L TOC. The system was allowed to well-mix for 1.5 hours.

The biofouling test was initiated by continuous injection of bacteria stock solution into the flow line at a dilution rate of 1:500 based on RO cross-flow rate. Biofilm was allowed to grow on the RO membranes. TMP rise due to biofouling was measured over time. The solution in the feed tank was removed and replaced with a fresh solution at the same NaCl and NB concentration twice per day in order to maintain the freshness level of the feed solution.

Upon completion of the fouling test, the RO system was cleaned with:
 Tap water adjusted to pH 2 with HNO3 for 1.5 hours
 Tap water adjusted to pH 11 with NaOH for 1.5 hours
 Flowing tap water for rinsing for 1.5 hours
 Final rinsing with Milli-Q water at unadjusted pH

The fouled membranes were removed from the RO cells for membrane autopsy. In this analysis, fluorescence staining methods and confocal laser scanning microscope (CLSM) were used to detect the biofilm.

Biofilms were prepared for CLSM by staining with the LIVE/DEAD BacLight Bacterial Viability Kits (Molecular Probes, L7012). It consists of SYTO 9 green-fluorescent nucleic acid stain and the red-fluorescent nucleic acid stain, propidium iodide (PI). These stains possess different spectral characteristics and different ability to penetrate healthy bacterial cells. When used alone, the SYTO 9 stain generally labels all bacteria in a population — those with intact and damaged membranes. In contrast, propidium iodide penetrates only bacteria with damaged membranes, causing a reduction in the SYTO 9 stain fluorescence when both dyes are present. Thus, with an appropriate mixture of the SYTO 9 and propidium iodide stains, bacteria with intact cell membranes stain fluorescent green, whereas bacteria with damaged membranes stain fluorescent red.

Microscopic observation and image acquisition of biofilms were performed using a confocal laser scanning microscope (ZEISS, model LSM710), equipped with Argon laser at 488 nm and DPSS561-10 laser at 561 nm. Images were captured using confocal microscope bundled program ZEN 2009.

Results and discussions

The cross-flow velocity (CFV) in RO membrane operations is known to affect fouling rate. At higher CFV, the flow causes scouring effects which results in slower fouling (Koltuniewicz et al., 1995). On the other hand, experiments of RO modules without the presence of flux shows that a higher cross-flow velocity may increase biofouling due to more nutrients supply (Vrouwenvelder et al., 2009b).

In our study, the investigation was carried out by varying the cross-flow velocity (CFV) from
0.1, 0.17, to 0.34 m/s. The NaCl concentration used was constant at 2000 mg/L and the applied flux was constant at 35 LMH. TMP values were measured overtime and normalized to the initial TMP.

Figure 3 shows the normalized TMP profiles. Faster TMP rise was observed at lower CFV and both operation with and without spacer show similar profiles. The delay of TMP rise caused by spacer was quantified by measuring the time needed for the TMP to increase by 10 % (Table 1). The effect of spacer was higher at higher CFV where the percentage of the delay was 21.21 % and 42.87 % at 0.10 m/s and 0.17 m/s respectively. An interesting phenomenon was observed during the earlier TMP rise (0-3 days) where change in CFV gives little effect on TMP profiles. Similar phenomenon was observed for operation with and without spacer. A possible explanation for this phenomenon is that during this period bacterial attachment was dominant and therefore operation at constant flux gives similar initial TMP rise. Previous studies (Chong et al., 2008) have shown previously that membrane biofouling is a flux driven process where higher flux increases the TMP rise. However, their study did not include spacers and did not focus on initial TMP rise.

Table 1. The delay of biofouling rate caused by spacer at different CFV

The effect of different salt concentrations was also investigated. In this experiment the flux and CFV were fixed at 35 LMH and 0.17 m/s respectively. Figure 4 shows the normalized TMP profile of three different NaCl concentrations in the feed solution. When the feed channel spacer was absent it was very obvious that faster TMP rise was observed at higher salt concentration. This suggests that the effect of concentration polarization (CP) increases with the salt concentration and confirms the presence of the biofilm enhanced osmotic pressure (BEOP) effect (Herzberg and Elimelech, 2007; Chong et al., 2008). This phenomenon however, was less obvious when the spacer was present on the membrane. The spacer appears to provide flow eddies thus reducing the effect of CP and to be useful to prevent biofouling on the membrane which was indicated with slower TMP rise. The spacer gives bigger effect at higher salt concentration where the time to reach 10 % TMP rise was delayed by 30 % at 100 mg/L and 2000 mg/L NaCl, and 95.7 % at 4000 mg/L (Table 2).

4.2 Biofilm development in spacer-filled RO membrane channel The development of biofilm in spacer-filled channel was observed via microscopic and microscopic method. Macroscopic images are to show overall uniformity of biofilm distribution, while the microscopic images are able to show a more detailed biofilm patterns. All of the images in this study were taken from separate experiments as the samples were unable to be reused after analysis, however all the conditions for the experiments were maintained the same.

Figure 5 shows the macroscopic images of biofilm development. The biofilm sample on the membranes and spacers were stained with 5-cyano-2,3-ditolyl tetrazolium chloride (CTC) dye. CTC stains bacteria with respiration activity and stained cells appear in red colour. Analysis was done after 0, 3, 6, and 10 days, the condition was 35 LMH flux, 0.17 m/s CFV, and 4000 mg/L NaCl concentration. Longer experiment duration gives thicker and denser biofilm, which can be seen from higher red colour intensity. The biofilms have also shown overall uniformity across the membrane area where similar patterns were observed among each spacer squares.

Figure 5. Macroscopic images of biofilm development on membranes and spacers. (A) 0-day, (B) 3-day, (C) 6-day, (D) 10-day. Biofilms stained with CTC dye and images taken with SONY NEX-5 digital camera.

Confocal laser scanning microscope (CLSM) provides a more detailed analysis of biofilm development (Figure 6). Based on the images, it appears that biofilm was initiated on the membrane; it later covered more areas and started to appear on the spacer. Areas behind the attached filaments of the spacer fiber seem to be suitable for the initial bacterial attachments rather than the centre of the spacer. Biofilm build-up observed on areas under the detached filaments was caused by higher shear due to accelerated CFV. Our experiments confirmed that biofouling in RO is a flux driven process. A lower TMP rise was observed at lower flux, which means slower biofouling rate. This is also supported with the biofilm coverage data where less coverage was observed at lower flux.

Conclusions

From the findings above, several conclusions can be drawn. The hydrodynamic condition of the flow is affecting the biofouling process. Cross flow velocity (CFV) is an important parameter and lower fouling can be achieved at higher CFV. Having feed channel spacers on the membrane is advantageous as it provides a more well-mixed flow, reduces concentration polarization and reduces TMP increase. Biofilm enhanced osmotic pressure (BEOP) was another phenomenon observed in this study. Due to the BEOP effect, a faster TMP rise was achieved at higher salinity. However, with the presence of the spacer the BEOP effect was reduced significantly.

From our microscopic analysis of biofilm shows that initial bacterial deposition and biofilm development was started on the membrane especially on areas behind the attached spacer filaments. Biofilm develops over time to cover more areas and starts to grow on the spacer at the later stages. Imposed flux also influences the biofilm development where lower biofouling is achieved at lower flux.

References

Baker, J. S. and Dudley, L. Y. (1998), “Biofouling in membrane systems – a review”, Desalination, Vol. 118, No. 1-3, pp. 81-90.

Chong, T. H., Wong, F. S. and Fane, A. G. (2008), “The effect of imposed flux on biofouling in reverse osmosis: Role of concentration polarisation and biofilm enhanced osmotic pressure phenomena”, Journal of Membrane Science, Vol. 325, No. 2, pp. 840-850.

Flemming, H. C. (1997), “Reverse osmosis membrane biofouling”, Experimental Thermal and Fluid Science, Vol. 14, No. 4, pp. 382-391.

Herzberg, M. and Elimelech, M. (2007), “Biofouling of reverse osmosis membranes: Role of biofilm-enhanced osmotic pressure”, Journal of Membrane Science, Vol. 295, No. 1-2, pp.
11-20.

Koltuniewicz, A. B., Field, R. W. and Arnot, T. C. (1995), “Cross-flow and dead-end microfiltration of oily-water emulsion. Part I: Experimental study and analysis of flux decline”, Journal of Membrane Science, Vol. 102, No. 1-3, pp. 193-207.

Suwarno, S. R., Puspitasari, V. L., Chong, T. H., Fane, A. G., Chen, X., Rice, S. A., Mcdougald, D. and Cohen, Y. (2010) “The hydrodynamic effect on biofouling in reverse osmosis membrane processes”, IWA International Young Water Professionals Conference, Sydney,

Vrouwenvelder, J. S., Hinrichs, C., Van Der Meer, W. G., Van Loosdrecht, M. C. and Kruithof, J. C. (2009b), “Pressure drop increase by biofilm accumulation in spiral wound RO and NF membrane systems: role of substrate concentration, flow velocity, substrate load and flow direction”, Biofouling, Vol. 25, No. 6, pp. 543-555.

Wangnick (2005), 2004 Worldwide Desalting Plants Directory, Global Water Intelligence, Oxford, England.

Related Publications

10 Business New Year’s Resolutions – MyronLMeters.com

TweetTo help brighten your New Year, I have compiled a list of the top 10 New Year’s resolutions for business development – things you can do to dramatically help yourself, your brands and your company. 1. Experiment with nontraditional media Media isn’t about to stop proliferating or fragmenting. Marketers need to put a plan in [...]

To help brighten your New Year, I have compiled a list of the top 10 New Year’s resolutions for business development – things you can do to dramatically help yourself, your brands and your company.

1. Experiment with nontraditional media

Media isn’t about to stop proliferating or fragmenting. Marketers need to put a plan in place to determine the nature, extent and return on an investment of something nontraditional.

2. Stop hating the sales people

Start treating the sales folks as marketing’s clients. Start mining your marketing database and giving information back to them. Show them how the information will help make them more money.

3. Lose your fear of numbers

Decide what you want to measure before you launch a campaign. It’s infinitely easier to explain your value to the boss with hardcore data, rather than offering nothing but your good name to back up major marketing decisions.

4. Use your relationships

Word-of-mouth is your best salesman – harness it with a robust referral program.  When purchasers and business owners talk, they talk about business. Make the next happy hour discussion about your company, your products, and your referral program.

Got an easy way to help build your customers’ business?  Share it!  MyronLMeters.com has a stockless reseller program that’s easy, effective, and risk-free. Believe me, we tell our customers.

5. Stop promoting your brands to death and start building them

Spend money on real marketing communications – rather than just promotions – to tell folks what your brand stands for. Give them good reasons to buy your products or services that have nothing to do with a special offer or freebie. Are your products as durable as Myron L meters?  Tell people!

6. Don’t specialize in only Partial Customer Satisfaction (PCS)

The University of Michigan‘s American Customer Satisfaction Index shows that the average cross-industry customer satisfaction score has fallen below 75% — basically a C grade. It goes without saying there is tremendous room for improvement here.

7. Walk a mile in your customers’ shoes

Get to know what makes your customers tick and what problems they have, and let insights about them drive your decisions.

8. Account-based marketing is always a sure thing

If you can’t get to anything else, make the time to hug your best customers. The fastest way to increase revenue is through customers who already know and love your brand.

9. Stop ignoring social media

It’s not going away soon, and there are some tangible, measurable results to be gained by using new marketing channels such as blogs, podcasts, RSS and video.

10. Monitor your online reputation

Today companies must closely watch their online reputation. Think about how you can put a system in place to monitor and react in case of a reputation crisis in the blogosphere.

All of us at Myron L Meters would like to take a moment to thank you for your business, and to wish you the best for 2013.  Our business nearly doubled in 2012 and we have you to thank. We have great things in store for the new year – new products, new partners, expanded international shipping, and more.  Let us know how we can be a better part of your growing business.

 

Material from Marketing Darwinism by Paul Dunay is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 United States License. Original found here: http://pauldunay.com/top-10-cmo-new-years-resolutions/

 

Measuring Free Chlorine – MyronLMeters.com

TweetChlorine Residuals The presence of free chlorine in drinking water indicates that: 1) a sufficient amount of chlorine was added to the water to inactivate most of the bacteria and viruses that cause diarrheal disease; and, 2) the water is protected from recontamination during transport to the home, and during storage of water in the [...]

Chlorine Residuals
The presence of free chlorine in drinking water indicates that: 1) a sufficient amount of chlorine was added to the water to inactivate most of the bacteria and viruses that cause diarrheal disease; and, 2) the water is protected from recontamination during transport to the home, and during storage of water in the household. Because the presence of free residual chlorine in drinking water indicates the likely absence of disease-causing organisms, it is used as one measure of the potability of drinking water.

Adding Chlorine
When chlorine is added to water as a disinfectant, a series of reactions occurs. These reactions are graphically depicted later in this article. The first of these reactions occurs when organic materials and metals present in the water react with the chlorine and transform it into compounds that are unavailable for disinfection. The amount of chlorine used in these reactions is termed the chlorine demand of the water. Any remaining chlorine concentration after the chlorine demand is met is termed total chlorine. Total chlorine is further subdivided into: 1) the amount of chlorine that then reacts with nitrates present in the water and is transformed into compounds that are much less effective disinfectants than free chlorine (termed combined chlorine); and, 2) the free chlorine, which is the chlorine available to inactivate disease-causing organisms, and is thus a measure used to determine the potability of water.

For example, when chlorine is added to completely pure water the chlorine demand will be zero, and there will be no nitrates present, so no combined chlorine will be formed. Thus, the free chlorine concentration will be equal to the concentration of chlorine added. When chlorine is added to natural waters, especially water from surface sources such as rivers, organic material will exert a chlorine demand, and combined chlorine will be formed by reaction with nitrates. Thus, the free chlorine concentration will be less than the concentration of chlorine initially
added.

Chlorine Addition Flow Chart

Testing Free Chlorine in Drinking Water

Testing free chlorine is recommended in the following circumstances:
• To conduct dosage testing in project areas
• To monitor and evaluate projects by testing stored drinking water in households

The goal of dosage testing is to determine how much sodium hypochlorite solution to add to water that will be used for drinking to maintain free chlorine residual in the water for the average time of storage of water in the household (typically 24 hours). This goal differs from the goal of infrastructure-based (piped) water treatment systems, whose aim is effective disinfection at the endpoints (i.e., water taps) of the system. The WHO recommends “a residual concentration of free chlorine of greater than or equal to 0.5 mg/litre after at least 30 minutes contact time at pH less than 8.0.” This definition is only appropriate for users who obtain water directly from a flowing tap. A free chlorine level of 0.5 mg/L can maintain the quality of water through a distribution network, but is not optimal to maintain the quality of the water when it is stored in the home in a bucket or jerry can for 24 hours.

Recommendations:
1. At 1 hour after the addition of sodium hypochlorite solution to water there should be no more than 2.0 mg/L of free chlorine residual present (this ensures the water does not have an unpleasant taste or odor).
2. At 24 hours after the addition of sodium hypochlorite to water in containers that are used by families for water storage there should be a minimum of 0.2 mg/L of free chlorine residual present (this ensures microbiologically clean water).
This methodology is approved by the World Health Organization (WHO), and is graphically depicted below. The maximum allowable WHO value for free chlorine residual in drinking water is 5 mg/L. The minimum recommended WHO value for free chlorine residual in treated drinking water is 0.2 mg/L. CDC recommends not exceeding 2.0 mg/L due to taste concerns, and chlorine residual decays over time in stored water.

1. Free Chlorine as an Indicator of Sanitizing Strength

Chlorine, which kills bacteria by way of its power as an oxidizing agent, is the most popular germicide used in water treatment. Chlorine is not only used as a primary disinfectant, but also to establish a sufficient residual level of Free Available Chlorine (FAC) for ongoing disinfection.

FAC is the chlorine that remains after a certain amount is consumed by killing bacteria or reacting with other organic (ammonia, fecal matter) or inorganic (metals, dissolved CO2, Carbonates, etc) chemicals in solution. Measuring the amount of residual free chlorine in treated water is a well accepted method for determining its effectiveness in microbial control.

The Myron L Company FCE method for measuring residual disinfecting power is based on ORP, the specific chemical attribute of chlorine (and other oxidizing germicides) that kills bacteria and microbes.

2. FCE Free Chlorine Unit

The 6PIIFCE is the first handheld device to detect free chlorine directly, by measuring ORP. The ORP value is converted to a concentration reading (ppm) using a conversion table developed by Myron L Company through a series of experiments that precisely controlled chlorine levels and excluded interferants.

Other test methods typically rely on the user visually or digitally interpreting a color change resulting from an added reagent-dye. The reagent used radically alters the sample’s pH and converts the various chlorine species present into a single, easily measured species. This ignores the effect of changing pH on free chlorine effectiveness and disregards the fact that some chlorine species are better or worse sanitizers than others.

The Myron L Company 6PIIFCE avoids these pitfalls. The chemistry of the test sample is left unchanged from the source water. It accounts for the effect of pH on chlorine effectiveness by including pH in its calculation. For these reasons, the Ultrameter II’s FCE feature provides the best reading-to-reading picture of the rise and fall in sanitizing effectivity of free available chlorine.

The 6PIIFCE also avoids a common undesirable characteristic of other ORP-based methods by including a unique Predictive ORP value in its FCE calculation. This feature, based on a proprietary model for ORP sensor behavior, calculates a final stabilized ORP value in 1 to 2 minutes rather than the 10 to 15 minutes or more that is typically required for an ORP measurement.

Using Rainwater – MyronLMeters.com

Tweet Using Rainwater Those of us who live in cities and towns, and eat food grown on industrial farms, depend on imported water for daily survival. Our water travels hundreds of miles to reach us. It is powered by mountain-leveling coal, mega-dam hydro-power, and nuclear power. The infrastructure that brings us this water costs billions [...]

Using Rainwater

Those of us who live in cities and towns, and eat food grown on industrial farms, depend on imported water for daily survival. Our water travels hundreds of miles to reach us. It is powered by mountain-leveling coal, mega-dam hydro-power, and nuclear power. The infrastructure that brings us this water costs billions of dollars in public tax money and household utility bills.
Harvesting rainwater can reduce our need for water transport systems that threaten the health of the water cycle and our local environments. Ironically, water use is often highest in the places where rain falls the least. But whether you live in the damp Pacific Northwest, the arid Mojave desert, the thunderstorm Midwest, or beyond, you depend on problematic water infrastructures.

Rainwater harvesting is one strategy to reduce domestic water use. Harvesting rainwater and dozens of other green household practices can bring us greater sustainability. Growing plants that shade and installing insulated windows can reduce energy use. Increasing home food production reduces demand for wasteful water use in industrial fields. Above all, rainwater harvesting increases quality of life: ours, and that of life around the world.
In arid climates and places with salty irrigation water, rainwater flushes salts and chemicals out, increasing health and soil vitality.
Design landscape to welcome the rain

On any house lot, there are three potential ways to harvest the rain: direct rainfall, street harvesting, and roof harvesting.
The easiest rainwater source is that which falls on the yard. Proper placement of plants, trees, and water sources can turn your yard into a water efficient system. Shape the surface of the soil to slow down runoff, raise paths and patios, and sink all planting areas to capture the flow. Choose plants–primarily natives–that can absorb and hold water in their root systems, or pass it down to the water table. This way, rainwater doesn’t run off into the street, where it would be swept away with motor oil, into the sewer system or discharged directly into a local waterway.

The second source of rainwater is the street. Streets aren’t flat; they are graded so that water flows to the curb, down the block to a gutter and into a storm drain. In cities like San Francisco and Portland, storm drains are connected to the sewage treatment plant, and heavy rains cause the sewer plant to overflow raw and partially treated sewer into the bay or river. Other cities connect storm drains to underground creeks, and the polluted water runs straight into the bay or nearby river. By cutting curbs and digging sunken basins into the “right-of way” or “parking strip” area of the sidewalk, you can turn street rainwater from a problem to a resource. Diverted rain that falls on streets can nourish plants, protect creeks, and contribute to cleaner cities.

Store the rain- cisterns and rain barrels
The third source of rainwater is the roof. Even in areas with low rainfall this is an easy way to harvest rainwater.
For example, the roof of a 1,000 square foot house can collect around 600 gallons per ONE inch of rain! In an average year with 12 inches of rain in Los Angeles, that small roof could collect 7,200 gallons.

The rain catchment system
A water catchment system for roof rainwater is simple, and can store water for outdoor irrigation.
200 gallons of storage tucked next to a garage
• Gutters: Roof water gathers in the gutters and runs to a pipe towards the tank.
• “First Flush”: The first rain of the year is the dirtiest as it cleans the roof. This water is directed away from the tank in a “first flush system” and the subsequent water continues to the tank.
• Screen: The rainwater goes through a screen to remove leaves and debris, and then funnels into the top of the covered tank.
• Storage: The tank is dark, to prevent algea from growing, and screened, to prevent mosquitoes from entering.
• Irrigation: A hose attachment is located near the bottom for irrigation.

Rain barrels are a popular way to begin rainwater harvesting, especially in urban areas; they are low cost, and can be installed along houses, under decks, or in other unused spaces.
There is a huge range of options for cisterns, large single storage tanks. They can be made from plastic, ferrocement, metal, or fiberglass, ranging in size from 50 gallons to tens of thousands of gallons.

Indoor use

Ceramic drinking water filter: This highly-effective, passive filter removes pollutants and pathogens including viruses from drinking water.
In Australia, rainwater cisterns supply potable water to thousands of homes. In the US, it’s becoming more common for people to use rainwater indoors for non-potable uses. These systems can reduce or eliminate use of municipal or well water during the rainy season, when outdoor irrigation is unnecessary. Most household rainwater systems use a pump and pressure tank to pressurize water. Many states do not have codes covering indoor rainwater use, and people seeking permits may be required to filter and disinfect the water, increasing system cost and complexity. However, EPA and other research has shown that rainwater harvested using a “first flush” system and protected from light is safe to use for bathing and other household use. Filtering only the small amount of water used for drinking with passive filters such as the ceramic filter shown at left, or with slow sand filters, greatly reduces system cost, and offers an affordable solution for people needing clean drinking water.

Information from Greywateraction.org shared via Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported (CC BY-SA 3.0)