Operators’ Forum

Five years in, the National First Nations Water Leadership Award is helping to tell some of the hidden tales of mentorship ongoing in the lives of water operators on Canada’s reserves, and the joy they’re finding in teaching others to carry on the mission towards creating finely-tuned water systems.

Lime slurry is a dense product to transfer, with a high solids content of up to 35%. Due to its abrasive nature, which causes wear on progressive cavity pumps with consequent downtime and operating costs, plant operators opted to use a peristaltic pump for the transfer process.

Aeration systems manufactured by INVENT have been in service reliably and maintenance-free since 2016 in a large industrial park located on an island. There is an oil port with oil terminal and many large storage tanks in the immediate vicinity, including an oil refinery operated there until 1997. Wastewater treatment and purification are particularly important in this environment.

Due to pandemic-related travel restrictions, Veolia North America was not able to provide on-site support for a wastewater plant condition assessment project. The evaluation required the use of specialized tools and on-site staff were not familiar with the operation of these tools. The team ultimately decided to use an augmented reality tool to remotely conduct the evaluation of the condition of the equipment at the plant.

Cybersecurity, the protection of internet-connected computer systems and networks from outside attacks, is one of the most serious economic and security challenges Canada and Canadians are facing. Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, organizations in Canada and around the world have seen a rise in cybersecurity incidents affecting corporate devices.

As control valves are often unseen or in remote locations, how do crews know when something is wrong before it causes a bigger problem? What can they do to prevent or reduce the risk? The answers lie in the capabilities of the control valve.

To help keep facilities running smoothly and optimize scheduled downtime, industrial cleaning specialists employ a variety of handheld and automated water-blasting equipment designed for these challenging applications. Selecting the right equipment goes beyond how fast crews can get the job done.

Digestate has multiple benefits when used as soil additive or biofertilizer despite it being often only used as livestock bedding or biomass fuel.

Watermain flush­ing in White Rock, B.C. has been conducted regularly for corrosion control, sediment removal, taste and odour con­trol, maintaining low turbidity, main­taining disinfectant residual, and the prevention of bacterial growth.

Just as winter always arrives, intake filters for blowers and compressors always have the potential to freeze in cold, humid climates. In nearly all of Canada, filter freezing and early morning high differential pressure alarms can be a fact of life for plant operators.

Utilities began to realize that they were “cleaning clean pipes”. With the advent of the IoT technology, maintenance departments now have tools that can predictively assess remote conditions and provide indications when to clean.