Automation is Not the Only Solution for Your Water Treatment Program

I have a controller that monitors my water and feeds chemicals — I don’t need to test the water! How “Old School” is that!

Unfortunately, reliance on automation to run the water treatment program without validating chemical levels and performance is becoming more common. This is especially the case with the incorporation of fluorescent dyes in the treatment chemicals. Having the correct level of dye or tracer (like molybdenum) in the water does not assure correct levels of active ingredients.

Take for example phosphonates used for preventing scale in open cooling water systems. Phosphonates will degrade over time and with exposure to oxidizing biocides. If the phosphonate levels fall below the minimum recommended levels, then you will probably find scaling conditions in the system. No one wants to open up a chiller and see scale in the tubes!

“Well, that’s okay, I’ll just set my set-point to a higher level and feed more chemical!” Feeding higher levels to assure some level of active ingredient might work. That might be fine for you and your customer, but it is not going to be fine for the business owner who is watching his profits decrease due to overuse of chemical. Accurate testing will allow you to meet the requirements of your contract while preserving the profitability your employer expects.

So using the latest automation that is web-based and can text and e-mail you when a parameter is out of bounds is not necessarily going to guarantee you a successful water treatment career. Automation will give you a better chance of achieving treatment results, but it is not a sure bet. You still need to break out the test case and run some tests to verify your chemistry is where you need it to be. That may sound “old school,” but you will notice a lot of the guys that test water are successfully in the business a long time.

Finally, in talking with customers, I have found they share a higher regard for water treaters they see doing testing. The customers feel the water consultants care more about their systems and are more involved with the programs. I have one particular customer that is very successful in gaining new business by doing testing where others seldom test. The accounts view his people as taking ownership of the programs — and perception is often the difference between having an account and losing an account.