كيفية تطوير برامج معالجة المياه

3. DEVELOPING A WATER TREATMENT PROGRAM

3.1

GENERAL INFORMATION.

Although each water treatment program may contain unique aspects, the strategic regulatory compliance and safety, protection of water-contacted goals of every program are equipment, and acceptable costs.

Achieving these goals requires the cooperative efforts of personnel from several areas, including environmental protection, engineering, contracting, operations, and outside resources.

Outside resources include water treatment services companies, equipment suppliers, and mechanical contractors.

In some cases, facilities may use outsourcing for procurement of all industrial water treatment chemicals and associated services.

This section addresses some of the options for developing both a water treatment program and performance standards that apply to implementation of the program.

Problems can occur when water treatment programs are not developed properly.

Each water treatment program is designed to address regulatory compliance and safety requirements as well as water quality and equipment protection.

A potential consequence of inadequate planning and design of a water treatment program is preparing inadequate scopes of work for use in procuring (contracting) for services.

If equipment protection is not adequate, the cost attributed to this failure often far outweighs the cost of the water treatment chemical program.

The most obvious problem is damage to, or the need for premature replacement of, the water-contacted equipment.

Loss of operational efficiency is also a problem but is not always as apparent because it is rarely measured accurately.

However, the additional operational costs due to operational inefficiency can be substantial.

When developing a water treatment program, you must give adequate effort and consideration to defining goals, devoting adequate resources to accomplish goals, and assessing performance.

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3.2

OPTIONS FOR SETTING UP A WATER TREATMENT PROGRAM.

There are four methods for developing and implementing a water treatment program:

a) Generic Programs:

In a generic water treatment program, facility operations personnel identify and use generic or commodity chemicals as part of the water treatment program that has been developed by facility personnel.

Facility operations provide all services for chemical feed and control as well as monitoring and performance assessment.

Facility personnel may be required to handle and mix generic chemicals. Alternatively, a contractor can develop the program for using generic chemicals, with services being provided by facility personnel.

b) Outsourcing of Proprietary Chemicals Only:

Procurement of proprietary water treatment chemicals is outsourced from a qualified water treatment contractor.

Facility operations provide all services for chemical feed and control, as well as monitoring and performance assessment.

c) Outsourcing of Proprietary Chemicals and Some Basic Periodic Services:

Proprietary water treatment chemicals, control and feed equipment, and periodic services are outsourced from a qualified water treatment contractor.

Facility operations provide daily services for chemical feed and control, and monitoring and performance assessment.

d) Complete Outsourcing:

All chemicals and services are outsourced to a contractor.

The facility provides only maintenance of operating equipment (no water-treatment-related services).

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3.3

DEVELOPING A SCOPE OF WORK (SOW) FOR INDUSTRIAL WATER TREATMENT.

A SOW (sometimes called a “statement of work” or a “statement of services to be provided”) is developed for inclusion in the required procurement documents (i.e., request for proposal/bid [RFP/RFB] and contract).

The SOW will identify the specific services, chemicals, and equipment that a contractor is to provide under the terms of the contract.

The SOW will, at a minimum, specify or identify the following:

SOW to be performed; qualifications of supplier; water characteristics of each system to be treated;

description of industrial water systems and their operation; performance specification (results required);

service requirements; equipment requirements for control, feed, monitoring, and sampling; requirements for chemicals and test equipment; and quotation for total chemical cost and usage.

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3.1

QUALIFICATIONS.

The SOW specifies the minimum qualification requirements for contractors and contractor representatives.

These requirements are developed to allow the participation of qualified contractors (water treatment chemical companies) having national, regional, and local operations.

The SOW can specify the minimum number of years that the company has been in business and the minimum number of years and type of experience of contractor representatives, as well as required technical service capabilities.

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3.2

SUBMITTAL REQUIREMENTS AND FORMAT.

The SOW clearly specifies the type of response (submittal) that is required from an RFP or RFB.

This is necessary to avoid receiving bid responses that are so different in their presentation that they cannot be easily or objectively compared.

The evaluation process can be simplified by requiring bidders to provide a comprehensive acknowledgement that they understand and accept all requirements for compliance, qualifications, service requirements, and performance standards.

The RFP/RFB should require a simple, generic, technical summary that lists the proposed chemical technology and treatment ranges for each type of system to be serviced under the procurement.

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3.3

WATER QUALITY.

The water supplied as makeup to industrial water systems is characterized in terms of its source, treatment, and quality, including seasonal and temporal variances. If external treatment is used on individual systems such as a steam boiler, this treatment is identified.

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3.4

DESCRIPTION OF SYSTEMS AND OPERATIONS.

A description of the number, capacity, and types of systems to be serviced under the contract is a critically important element of a SOW.

The metallurgy of all water-contacted surfaces is identified. Without this information, performance standards cannot be adequately defined.

The condition of equipment is documented.

Operational parameters, such as the equipment duty, load, and usage, are described so that water usage (preferably total water usage for each system) and chemical restrictions can be considered in developing the proposal.

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3.5

PERFORMANCE SPECIFICATION.

Performance criteria are specified for protecting equipment against deposition, corrosion, and biological growths.

Certain minimally acceptable standards for performance must be met.

Allowances are made for problems that cannot be totally controlled by chemical treatment alone.

One example is SS accumulation in a cooling tower system. Chemical dispersants can aid in keeping SS from settling on metal surfaces, but it may require adequate flow and physical removal to maintain good control.
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3.6

SERVICE REQUIREMENTS.

The SOW accurately describes the services to be provided by the contractor.

Service includes the frequency of on-site visits, the duties to be performed, and the methods of reporting.

The duties to be performed can include these activities:

water testing; making log entries; training; maintaining automated chemical control and feed equipment;

manual addition of chemicals to industrial water systems; inventory control; corrosion coupon studies; microbiological population determination; equipment inspections; laboratory support; quarterly reviews; and annual reviews.
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3.7

CONTROL, FEED, MONITORING AND SAMPLING EQUIPMENT REQUIREMENTS.

The SOW specifies what equipment, if any, is required to achieve consistent control of the makeup water treatment chemical program.

Automated control and feed equipment is required on most medium and large cooling towers and on most steam boilers.

Automated control and feed equipment helps limit the demand for service maintenance.

To provide for the preparation of an appropriate SOW, engineering and facility maintenance personnel carefully evaluate their capabilities in the area of water treatment and water systems.

Inadequate water treatment equipment can result in higher service requirements or inconsistent control of the chemical program.

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3.8

CHEMICALS AND TEST EQUIPMENT.

The SOW specifies any restrictions on the use or discharge of chemicals.

Examples of restrictions can include limitations on the use of acid, shipping container size limits, microbiocide selection criteria, and limitation on use of dry chemicals.

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3.9

QUOTATION FOR COST AND USAGE.

The SOW specifies how the cost of chemicals and services is being calculated and quoted. For example, quotations for chemical treatment can be based on the cost to treat 3.785 cubic meters of water.

Cost for services in the SOW can be required to be included in the cost of chemical treatment or quoted separately as line items, time, and materials.

Contracts that require a "not-to-exceed" quotation supply bidders with a not-to-exceed water usage estimate.

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4.

REPORTS AND AUDITS.

Reports and audits are tools for documenting performance and cost effectiveness of any industrial water treatment program.

Audits serve to verify results from the water treatment service company.

Audits also serve to verify the cost-effectiveness of product being supplied by the water treatment service company.

Audits are performed by appropriate agencies or by independent consultants contracted to perform such duties.