Sediment is a big water storage tank maintenance issue.
Though it might sound innocuous, like dirt or corrosion settled at the bottom of a vessel, water tank services stress that it can be much more than that and even a health hazard.
Water tank engineering services that design these potable units do so with a recommended maintenance schedule that includes occasional draining to remove sediment and whatever else makes its way inside.
Are your tanks being properly maintained?
When Water Tastes and Smells Bad
One of the biggest challenges that municipalities face with serving water to their communities is keeping up with water tank maintenance so the water is always clean and fresh.
Foul-smelling water or water that tastes off in some way is a bad sign that there is a problem, either in the tank or with the source of the water.
Water tank services find that depending on what the cause of the smell or taste is, unclean water can be contaminated in ways that can make it unhealthy and unfit for consumption.
Tanks filled with smelly, bad-tasting water require at the very least an inspection to determine the cause of the problem.
Quite often, it’s due to sediment at the bottom of the vessel and more specifically, what is in the sediment.
What Is In That Sediment?
Sediment collecting at the bottom of most water storage vessels is inevitable, making regular inspection and cleaning essential.
Water storage tank engineers frequently find things inside these tanks and it is not just less offensive organic materials like sand, silt, rust particles, and similar.
That stench or foul taste is often due to contamination from dead and decomposing animals in the tank such as rodents, snakes, lizards, and other animal carcasses, dead insects, animal feces, and more.
Any one of those things can cause a variety of problems, from contaminating the water with bacteria such as salmonella or listeria to uncontrolled algae or microorganism growth.
A single animal drowning inside a vessel and going undiscovered could potentially sicken an entire town if tanks are not being carefully monitored and inspected at the first sign of potential concerns.
Regular Inspections and Sediment Removal Are Essential
Although not a common occurrence, the fact that any water storage tank becomes contaminated and is not discovered until after someone becomes ill from the water is a red flag indicating improper maintenance practices.
In many instances, water tank services eventually called out to diagnose problems find that the affected tank has not been drained and had the sediment removed in a very long time.
Some cases of water-borne illness have even been documented as being associated with contaminated tanks that have never been taken offline for tank maintenance including draining, dry inspection, and cleaning to remove all sediment.
This is extremely dangerous for the community and can also result in a shorter lifespan for the tank if there are never any close inspections to detect and repair corrosion.
Potable Water Storage Tanks Need Regular Maintenance
The takeaway message that water storage tank services hope to stress here is the importance of knowing what, besides water, is in a potable water storage tank as those things could become a serious and even deadly health hazard.
To keep every vessel clean and free from the dangerous sediment that can contaminate entire local water systems, water tank engineers recommend regular inspections, including frequent basic visual inspections as well as those that require draining the tank every few years and timely removal of any sediment.
Water storage tank maintenance including inspections and sediment removal as well as regular visual inspections and water quality testing are all critical to keeping a municipal water supply clean and healthy for the community.
