Maintaining Water‐Treatment Equipment

The best designed plant and the most capable operator cannot perform adequately without a sound maintenance program. A maintenance program, as the author views it, consists of two general categories. The first of them is emergency repairs of equipment that has failed. The second is a preventive maintenance program. Good preventive maintenance will not eliminate equipment failure, but it will definitely reduce the number of failures requiring emergency repairs. How does one go about establishing a good maintenance program? During the author's (almost) 25 yr with the Indianapolis Water Co., he has yet to hire a man experienced in the maintenance of water-treatment-plant equipment. This means that a considerable amount of time must be devoted to training. As plants become more automated, the basic skills required become more complex. The frequency and the nature of problems determine the size and talents required of a maintenance staff. The promptness of action required is determined largely by the amount of standby equipment available.