Cooling tower water treatment can be a complex and nuanced process, which might make it seem daunting any time you consider reevaluating your strategy. However, it is important to review your relationship with your water treatment company and make changes according to new pieces of evidence each year.
This does not have to be a complicated process. To determine how you can change and improve your strategy here are a few questions that you can answer.
Did Your Cooling Tower Water Treatment Company Stay On Top of Issues?
Was your water treatment representative responsive to your needs and requests? As you work toward the perfectly balanced treatment plan for your water, your representative will need to be willing to quickly address any concerns or requests; failure to do so can cause your water treatment to be less effective which can lead to potential risks and hazards or system failure.
How Did The Equipment Operate?
Just as symptoms like Legionella outbreaks can serve as evidence of inadequate water treatment, so too can physical damage to the system. If you are noticing severe pits in your piping, you may be dealing with higher corrosion rates than you should be and you should look into our corrosion program.
Similarly, if you notice a high level of algae or scum presence during basin cleaning and regular maintenance, your biocide might not be working as effectively as it should. Regularly examining the physical machinery of your system can give you valuable clues; if only one area of piping seems to be having an issue with corrosion or scaling, this indicates that something may have been interfering with your system’s ability to adequately and completely circulate your water treatment strategy last season. Problems with your system may indicate problems with your water treatment plan’s success.
Are You Informed Of The Status Of Your System Routinely?
One of the most important things that a reputable water treatment company can do for you is to make sure that you receive a service report explaining conditions in layman’s terms at least monthly. It is vital that you understand the current state of your system and your water treatment strategies, which is why such reports should be conveyed in accessible terminology to enable you to make decisions going forward.
Did Your Levels Fluctuate?
If your water treatment was a success last season, you should have seen your protection levels remain fairly steady within the target range for the entire cooling season. High levels of variance or unexpected issues such as a bacterial outbreak indicate that your plan is not correctly tailored to your needs.
Was Your Cooling Tower Cleaned?
Was your cooling tower cleaned at least twice this season? Was your chemical station kept clean and in full operation for the entirety of the season? If the answer to either of these questions is no, your water treatment company may not be providing you with the service you deserve and the disinfection that your system needs.
Did Legionella Arise?
The presence of Legionella is a large red flag that your water treatment strategy is not successful in its current state. If you experienced Legionella growth, did your representative help you to resolve the issue immediately? Legionella is a serious risk, and a reputable company will act immediately.
How Did The Season End?
Properly putting a cooling tower to rest for the season (“laying it up”) is just as important as managing it while it is running. If your season has ended and your cooling tower was not laid up with the appropriate inhibitors and biocides, you could be at risk of bacterial outbreaks and ongoing corrosion even when the tower is not in use.
Work With The Experts To Craft A Cooling Tower Water Treatment Plan
Whether you are just putting together a comprehensive water treatment plan or you need help determining what went wrong (and right!) last season, the experts can help so that you do not have to tackle this process alone.
Rely on the experience of professionals such as those at Tower Water to give you an informed, customized water treatment strategy that will address your specific and individualized needs. Reach out to schedule an appointment so that you can approach the new year with a better water treatment strategy than last year.