Covid-19 has rapidly altered the daily life of Americans in a way that few other events have and industrial water treatment professionals are no exception. Field service representatives have had to deal with new access restrictions at customer sites, corporate engineering staff are working from home and learning how to remotely diagnose problems and support field staff, supply chains have been strained, and shipping has dealt with massive increases in volume. All of these challenges have caused companies to take a step back and look introspectively at their business model and see what changes they can make to become more nimble and efficient. What does this mean for the future of industrial water treatment?

Hard water has been causing issues for humanity for ages, whether it is making it difficult to wash our clothes and cars, or depositing on our hot water heaters and kettles. Hardness scale is typically the combination of calcium and magnesium compounds that have precipitated out of water (e.g., calcium carbonate, magnesium silicate). This tough deposit forms in HVAC cooling systems and process water systems and can wreak havoc by decreasing system life and increasing energy usage, maintenance, and operational costs.

The scariest four words in the United States are “you are being audited.” These words are usually associated with the IRS reviewing tax filings and typically result in additional taxes, penalties, and fees. But in water management, being audited should be looked at from a completely different view. A water management audit works in much the same way as a routine checkup at your doctor’s office. During an audit, your system is reviewed for ways to improve its overall health. This goes beyond just increasing cycles to reduce blowdown and energy consumption. Audits focus on identifying other potential sources of makeup water, water reuse, and improved efficiencies.

Water is one of the most abundant resources we have in the world. It is considered the ultimate sustainable resource due to the hydrologic cycle that returns water back to nature for reuse in the form of precipitation. This precipitation, when immediately formed, will be water in its purest form. As it falls through the sky and travels to the different water sources (e.g., ground water, surface water, etc.) it will pick up a variety of impurities. Water is therefore commonly called the universal solvent since it has the ability to dissolve, to a certain extent, almost every substance found in nature. However, not all water qualities are the same and will vary across geographic regions.

With the impact of COVID-19, the ongoing partnership between plant personnel and your water treatment provider is more important than ever.  Water systems, such as cooling towers and boilers, are dynamic systems by design.  In today’s environment, they may not be operating as consistently as before with entire processes or facilities being shut down with little warning and, just as quickly, started back up.