Hydraulic Service System - Incidence of Pipe Water Connection Contamination in Buildings - Literature review Example

Potential problems with water supply connection in buildings Name Institution Course Date Table of Contents 1. Introduction……………………………………………………………………………………3 2. Incidence of pipe water connection contamination in buildings……………………………….3 3. Causes of piped drinking water contamination………………………………………………...6 4. Remedies needed to solve pipe water contamination………………………………………….9 5. Where to report in case of contamination…………………………………………….………11 6. Conclusion……………………………………………………………………………………14 7. References………………………………………………………………………………….…16 Introduction Water is an important basic necessity in human life due to its contribution inn hydrating the human body. Water play different roles in the human body such as contributing to the life of the body cells, chemical and metabolic reactions, help in the transportation of the nutrient in the body, help in body temperature regulation and finally water is key in helping eliminate the waste in the human body. The above named function of water are very important in the sustenance of the human life hence water flow and quality in terms of safety need to be a sensitive system that should be installed with great care. Unfortunately human make mistake and several cases have been reported in the past where drinking water get contaminated due to error in supply system. The report therefore focuses on case study of scenarios where drinking water supply has gone wrong leading to contamination. The report is therefore analyzed from the point of view of a professional hydraulic service engineer storyline of a scenario giving an insight the possible mistakes on the drinking water supply system in building, the methods of solving the problem and the institution to report to incase of such incidences. Safe supply of drinking water is a prerequisites for humans to have a healthy life, unfortunately waterborne diseases is still liable for many deaths globally. Therefore the national standards in respective countries working together in line with the international guidelines is needed especially the WHO guidelines on the requirement of a safe and quality drinking water. According to (Fawell, 2003) the quality of drinking water and possibility of contamination varying from place to place due inconsistent effects from arsenic, fluoride or pathogens contamination. Incidence of pipe water connection contamination in buildings Incidence of drinking water contamination have happened many times in the past and a lot of them have led to cases in courts due to accusations and counter accusations. However in this report I focus on a contamination scenario that occurred on March 2001 in a small community called North Battleford, Ssaskatchewan which was home to approximately 14,000 people by then. The community used the water from North Ssaskatchewan which is treated before use through processes like chlorination and flocculation before being settled (Jameson et al., 2015). In March 2001, the system went through minor repairs. The process entailed the emptying the treatment plan in order to remove all the sludge from the bottom of the system. This was done to access the floor in order to repair the emanating small cracks on the floor. Therefore the only process to allow inspection, cleaning and repairing process was to empty the system. Unfortunately the process was done a month late as the best time to undertake the process is February when the spring breakups and possible runoff have no chance of affecting the system (Jameson et al., 2015). On 20th March 2001, the repair was completed in the afternoon and night employees instructed to run the first incoming water to flow as waste till the turbidity level of the water drop to less than 5NTU and the chlorine residual level to go as low as 2.0 free chlorine. The night employee followed the instruction and when the turbidity level reached 2.29 and free chlorine was 2.15, the employee shifted the pumping system from waste to the clear well from which the water used in the community was drawn (Jameson et al., 2015). Unfortunately settling of the solid in the solid settling unit did not go as planned forcing the employees to try different chemical doses which all became counterproductive. In contrast, the process led to the fluctuation of the turbidity level at the same time the filter used in the system required backwashing frequently and the water used mistakenly was not run to waste. The plant manager on getting the settling failure information recommended a purchase of Bentonite to improve the settling which also failed and by 24th April 2001 settling had not occurred. All this time the turbidity varied with the recorded value showing 0.5 in 9days and 0.3 for the rest of the 13 days (Jameson et al., 2015). The management did not warn the public of the possible problem and from the date of maintenance completion to 24th April, North Battleford community used the water for various household duties such as drinking and cooking. The alarm was only raised when the elderly and the children reported increased cases of nausea, vomiting and diarrhea with reported cases plummeting to as high as 7000 reported cases. Some of the people reported ill came outside the community since the contamination happened during the Easter holiday. However the contamination did not course any reported deaths (Jameson et al., 2015). An in depth analysis of the cause of the contamination was found to be Cryptosporidium. Though the management contested that the source of contamination was never their fault since some ill reported people fell sick before 20th March, the inquiry ruled against them pointing the source of the outbreak to be from the water treatment plant. The inquiry went further to request the city planners to build a new treatment facility before 2003 supported by a safe drinking water policy that has guideline which will assist in attaining quality (Jameson et al., 2015). The case was taken further when a group of seven hundred claimant return the lawsuit to court requesting redress and accusing the city of North Battleford and provincial government of being responsible of the pain they went through. They won the case and received $ 3.2 million as compensation of their pain and suffering, unnecessary expenditure and legal issues follow up (Jameson et al., 2015). Causes of piped drinking water contamination Water is a sensitive basic need in human life and other supportive vital activities. Unfortunately its sensitivity make it liable to various contaminants. Normally the contamination sources can be classified as low hazard, biological hazard, chemical hazard and radiological hazard. Chemical contaminants is a common problem in drinking water contamination with the natural chemicals found in the ground water being major cause of the problem. The most notable case is the arsenic influence in causing diseases which is common in India, South America and Far East. Unfortunately it effect has been related to the cause of cancer in human and other dangerous diseases such as hyperkeratosis and peripheral vascular disease. The effect and distribution is varying and not much research has revealed the arsenic exposure and the common limit is assumed to be 10mg/l though no specific concentration has been pointed out to be the ideal point for illness cause (Fawell, 2003). The second chemical is the waterborne fluoride which is a major cause of morbidity in various part of the world especially India, Far East and Africa. The concentration in drinking water should not exceed 10mg/l and if an individual is exposed to high level of fluoride it can result to browning and mottling of the teeth. Too much fluoride intake can cause skeletal fluorosis which result to increase bone density leading to higher risk of experiencing fractures and other skeletal deformity (Fawell, 2003). World health organization reveled that intake of 14mg per day of fluoride causes increase risk of bone fractures and intake of more than 6mg per day can have bone effect. Selenium and uranium presence in consumption water has also been reported to have adverse effect on humans. If water flows over seleniferous region, the water selenium content will lead to loss of hair, weakened nails and possible skin lesions. Uranium too is found in groundwater and is commonly associated with areas where water flow over the granitic rocks. However, it is found to be a kidney toxin though that depends on more research which is still being done (Fawell, 2003). Agricultural chemicals is a major source of chemical contaminants with the most common chemical being the majorly used nitrate in fertilizer which research shows is a major cause of methaemoglobinaemia, or blue-baby syndrome. The precise level that cause the contamination has never been determined, however WHO put the guideline value at 50mg/l with the value mostly varying between 50-100 mg/l. Though rarely a concern, when the fertilizers or pesticide are washed into the surface water with possible sewage combination can result to cyanobacteria growth (Fawell, 2003). The effect may be more enormous if the water is not well taken through a good treatment process. Urban pollution in industries and the normal dwellings is also a serious cause of water contamination (Fawell, 2003). The common suspects are the heavy metals and solvent such as tri and tetrachloroethene and hydrocarbons. Low concentration of aromatic hydrocarbon are known to cause bad odour in drinking water especially when at a concentration of less than 30 µm/l. At times the by-product of water treatment in some cases result to chemical contaminations. Though the process is aimed at removing microorganisms and other chemical contaminants which in some cases may result to unexpected further contamination especially due to chemical like trihalomethanes and haloacetic acids. Therefore necessary consideration is necessary to weigh between the positive and the negative contribution. Among the two chemicals named before, only trihalomethanes is being monitored in a routine manner and the limit is set at THMs in United Kingdom at 100µg/l. The fact that water is treated using various methods is an indication that several different types of by-products is possible with the advantage and disadvantage varying depending on the method used. However, the by-product of the treatment process not only depend on the chemical use but also other components in the equation. A good example is the chlorination process which form by product depending on the concentration of chlorine, the amount of organic matter used, the level of bromine, PH levels and finally time (Fawell, 2003). Endocrine disrupter are also source of water contamination and are regarded as chemical which affect the functioning of the endocrine system which special effect synthesis on the natural hormones. The recorded health effect of such a sperm count decline, hypospadias and cryptorchidism, and cancer of the breast and testes. The source of the problem is the existence of chemicals like Phthalates, bisphenols, alkyl phenols, alkyl phenol ethoxylates, polyethoxylates, pesticides, human hormones and pharmaceuticals due to sewage water being discharge in usable water. The fact that many of the surface water experience sewage water flow disruption and mix-up is a clear cut indication that serious processes be adopted for treating the sick. The most common case is the widespread lead contamination which has numerous health risk in human life. The safe drinking water act require that the public be notified of the lead levels in the public drinking water system. The maximum lead level in consumable water system is 0.05 mg/l though in cases where that is exceeded; the public need to be notified according to the public general notification guidelines (Who.int, 2015). The minimum lead concentration level accepted may vary with some areas recommending as a low as 0.01milligrams per liter [mg/l].Lead is a metal, silver grey in color and though it has been used often in home appliances, reports show that it has adverse effect on fetus and children. In the human drinking water, the most common source of the lead is in the plumbing system in the houses or other submersible pumping system. The longer the water is left stagnated on such a system, the higher the chance of contamination (Who.int, 2015). Microbial contamination is a biological effect common in water contamination. When water is contaminated from microbial contaminants, the result is the population using the water source experiencing diarrhoeal diseases. The water gets contaminated from the faecal matter which contain pathogenic organism and that normally lead to waterborne diseases outbreak especially typhoid and cholera (NJ, 2015). Remedies needed to solve pipe water contamination Various ways of ensuring quality in the water system exist and a lot of them depend on the quality of human installation and the materials we used. However, the contamination causes possible in drinking water vary and each has a different method of decontamination. The presence of lead in the water system was a problem that was significantly dealt with in between 1950 and 1960 when the used of lead components was banned from plumbing works. However if by any chance anyone notice the presence of lead in the water through either sending water sample for testing by a qualified professional, the best option is to replace all the points in plumbing where lead is used. However, in case replacement might be impossible, it is good to avoid using the hot water from such a tap for drinking or cooking. This is because the hot water increase the ability of lead to dissolve as compared to cold water. In other cases where lead pipes are used and the water stagnate in the pipe overnight for more than five hours, the best solution is to run the water till cold water comes out before fetching drinking or cooking water. The design of the piping system must be efficient enough to ensure there are no water mix-up especially the waste and the clean water. Normally design failures result to very minor loopholes which if not repaired result to contamination. For example in the case discussed above of North Battleford, the assigned engineer only changed the valves and pipes to ensure waste water was properly discharged. At the same time sampling sites were added to allow for continuous monitoring, checking of percolation and turbidity level. To improve the mixing, the engineers recommended coagulants to improve sand mixing. The management was then instructed to run water to waste in case of: sewage bypass, the chlorine used for treatment malfunctioned, improper working of SCU and turbidity rising above 0.3 NTU (Jameson et al., 2015). Chemical contamination of water can only be controlled through water treatment processes. Once a given water source is suspected of contamination, the best option is to recommend testing to determine the presence of the suspected contaminant. Once the level off the contaminant is determined, necessary additives can be added to eliminate the chemical contaminant. However the law recommends that the public/the community involved be alerted in case of chemical contamination. Normally if the water contamination level increase to level that is unsafe by the standards, then response unit can be called to take relevant measures. However though the drinking water are already exposed to treatment at the management unit through methods such as filtration and chlorination, it is necessary that if the user doesn’t trust the source, then a three minutes boiling will surely improve the quality. The last option is the piping building design and the quality of parts used such as valves should never allow backflow which possible contaminate the available drinking water. Therefore proper piping and valve installation is necessary. The water can be treated using methods like: filtration which can be used to reduce pathogens, boiling, disinfection, combination if filtration and chemical disinfection and finally through use of Ultra Violet radiation (Cdc.gov, 2015). Where to report in case of contamination The public are normally put at risk when contamination occurs in any place globally and immediate and accurate measures being taken to correct such errors. Therefore it is the responsibility of the user to understand the process and follow the basic codes of conduct in reporting. The report therefore focuses on various bodies that such contamination reports can be handed such as: 1. Police and fire department The police are important response unit in case of any emergency in the community. The structure of the police is aimed at performing roles like routine patrol, quick response in case of call, and arrest of criminal and following up investigations where necessary. Through community policing, the police try to use their personal appearance to improve their relationship with the public and that make it easy to get information. The fire department respond to any emergency when needed with the main objective of safety enhancement. Most of them operate under the local government but are either volunteers or employed by the federal government. Though they are specialized on fire issues, much more cases of their response are situation needing first aid response. They can also be beneficial in case of contamination since they are also experts on safety education trainings and that can be beneficial to the public as they get highlighted on safe response during such emergency. The role of the firefighters therefore are: response to safety emergency calls, provision of first aid to lower distress and community education by enhancing their capacity to deal with such emergency. 2. Civil support team This are emergence response team on sensitive issues mostly affecting a large number of people especially incidence of terrorism act or industrial chemical leakages. However they can still be called for emergency such as water contamination which can also be biological approach of a terrorist act (Swetenham et al., 2011). They normally act very fast deploying responders who assist in diagnosing the nature of the attack and respond through technical support and medicine provision. They are normally the first line of response and may leave the ground incase more federal or military response is required. 3. HazMat Responders The term refers to hazardous material responders. The main role of the unit is to protect the life of the public and their property and in special cases limit the environmental effect. Therefore when they are called upon, their responsibility is to: Control the site of the emergency, find ways of detecting the hazardous material cause the health problem, identification, evacuation if need be, decontamination process determination, identify the risk zone and contain it to control exposure and finally request for additional resources where necessary. However their first responsibility is ensuring safety for all though they have to accept their limitation in capacity and capability so that they can coordinate and cooperate with all the bodies involved in emergency response. HazMat team is highly trained on issues such as: safe asbestos removal, removal of lead dust and lead paints in systems, hazardous coating, metal dust abatements, microbial decontamination and chemical decontamination (Resources, 2015). The team is experienced in controlling infections and providing primary healthcare facilities needed in case of such emergency response. 4. Law enforcement (e.g. FBI and EPA) This is a service offering level that is mandated at ensuring safety is maintained and the welfare of the government or the community at large is responded to. At the same time they are involved in ensuring the community enjoy quality life. The unit this days focuses on the community life problems through solving their problem through the criminal justice system. In modern cases, the law enforcement ensure they understand the community problem and solve them amicably through finding a workable solution that is cost effective and sustainable resolution. They focus on quality delivery and emergency preparedness of the community for successful development agenda (Anon, 2015). EPA is an environmental crime response unit and their mandate is ensuring the guidelines on the environmental issues are aimed at ensuring we have a safe coexistence with our environment. The contamination issues can be accidental or intentional aimed at eliminating the users of such commodity. They are trained to have relevant knowledge on investigating various violated environmental laws related to the country of operation. The environmental response team are properly trained and they specializes on decontamination and environmental cleanup especially in buildings and other facilities that may require the same. Therefore it is one of the right team to call upon in case of drinking water contamination (Anon, 2015). The environmental cleanup teams are trained on issues like: lab cleanup, disastrous recovery, infection control, repair of fire, smoke, wind and damage, lead and asbestos abatement, mold remediation and key issues environmental response Conclusion Water is an important component in sustaining human life. However, it is key in enhancing of various body operation such as digestion, cell growth and waste removal hence its contamination easily affect human health. Therefore drinking water channeling is an important aspect in plumbing and the design and quality of material used in the system should ensure internal risk of contamination are eliminated. However to err is to human and several mistakes we do in waste disposal, design, material use and choice of drinking water source has resulted to several cases of water contamination globally. The risk is at time enormous and sometime the bodies involved get sued for compensation due to the suffering caused due to exposure. Basically the common contamination risk are basically intermediary, biological and chemical contaminations. Community awareness and training is necessary to facilitate their emergency understanding, improve their reaction and improve their ability to detect any malpractice. The drinking water users need to be aware of the necessary procedure of testing drinking water for safety confirmation and also the quickest emergency reported in case any contamination is detected. The best way to avoid the chances of contamination is awareness and use of scientific criteria’s to test for safety of the source at the same time ensuring we enjoy proper design in our building facilities. Continuous monitoring of water consumed is very necessary and the supply and water management bodies need to be aware and vigilant about that. The right procedure therefore for the water consumers is to stop using such water sources once foul play is detected and one of the bodies responsible for emergency response notified to undertake the necessary procedure. Therefore to enhance our understanding of the drinking water contamination issues, the report was divided into: Incidence of piped drinking water contamination in buildings, Causes of piped drinking water contamination, Remedies needed to solve pipe water contamination and Where to report in case of contamination. References Anon, (2015). [online] Available at: http://www.epa.gov/ace/ace3draft/draft_pdfs/ACE3DrinkingWaterContaminantsReviewPackage3-02-11.pdf [Accessed 25 Aug. 2015]. Cdc.gov, (2015). CDC - A Guide to Drinking Water Treatment and Sanitation for Backcountry And Travel Use - Camping, Hiking, Travel - Drinking Water - Healthy Water. [Online] Available at: http://www.cdc.gov/healthywater/drinking/travel/backcountry_water_treatment.html [Accessed 25 Aug. 2015]. Fawell, J. (2003). Contaminants in drinking water. British Medical Bulletin, 68(1), pp.199-208. Jameson, P., Hung, Y., Kuo, C. and Bosela, P. (2015). [Online] Engagedscholarship.csuohio.edu. Available at: http://engagedscholarship.csuohio.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1012&context=encee_facpub [Accessed 25 Aug. 2015]. NJ, A. (2015). Microbial contamination of drinking water and disease outcomes in developing Regions. - PubMed - NCBI. [Online] Ncbi.nlm.nih.gov. Available at: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15138046 [Accessed 25 Aug. 2015]. Resources, F. (2015). HazMatIQ | Emergency Response HazMat Training | Federal Resources. [online] Hazmatiq.com. Available at: http://www.hazmatiq.com/ [Accessed 25 Aug. 2015]. Who.int, (2015). WHO | Water-related Diseases. [online] Available at: http://www.who.int/water_sanitation_health/diseases/lead/en/ [Accessed 25 Aug. 2015]. Read More