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Water watch: Town receives clean bill of health for water
By Zach Markovic, Zmarkovic@starlocalnews.com
Results are in from a water survey done by a consultant for the town are in, and the results look good, for the town at least.
Hardin and Associates Consulting reported their findings to the Sunnyvale Town Council Monday night. The agency was brought in after several residents voiced concerns to the town administration that their water was visibly dirty with flakes and other sediments.
The firm determined that the towns water supply coming from the provider is not causing any corrosion to the town pipes. They also recommended the replacement of one pipe system to reduce the flaking and sediment issue.
Byron Hardin, spokesman for Hardin and Associates Consulting, said their group was brought on board to sample the aggressiveness of the water in the town water supply. Higher aggressive, or soft, water causes more corrosion to the plumbing.
“The water in the town of Sunnyvale is not aggressive,” Hardin said. “it actually tends to lead to the hard side. This is a good thing because it does not lead to stripping of pipes. All of the residents that we, myself included, did several swabs on plumbing and we did not find any higher levels of lead on their internal plumbing. In summary we are glad to report that the town water meets all standards set by the EPA and TCEQ.”
Hardin said their laboratory analysis does indicate the town or the water supplier, North Texas Municipal Water District, is not the factor to .higher levels of copper in the water. He said he believes the contributing factors to water corrosion are higher temperatures of the water.
The agency found numerous residents with heat pumps that recirculate the water to keep a constant temperature or residents tankless water system that can cause higher temperature water to remain on the plumbing.
“We did find those with issues had underlying similarities from one facility to another,” Hardin said. “And those facilities without a heat pump or tankless system we did not find excessive levels lead/copper.”
For those experiencing flaking in their system, especially those residents on the East Fork line, the firm identified an older distribution line that they recommend for replacement. Scott Campbell, town manager, said the estimated cost to replace that pipe line will be in the $275,000 to $300,000. As the 2013 budget process gets under way the town manager said they plan on including the project in the CIP fund.
“We have approved CIP improvements back in 2008 and those projects have always come under budget,” Campbell said. “To connect the loops in the Deer Creek area should come in around $40,000. But the line that runs down East Fork off of Tripp to U.S. 80 is a line we have always had problems with. It is a 6-inch cast iron pipe if the black flakes are due to line deterioration we feel it is going to be that line.”
Hardin said now that they have identified residents need to be wary of what they can do to slow down corrosion on their own plumbing.
What is Corrosion?
Corrosion is “the deterioration of a substance or its properties due to a reaction with its
environment.” In plain words, the metal from the piping dissolves into the water as a result of
various causes, causing pipe failure and corrosion of water heaters, appliances and fixtures.
Corrosion in plumbing systems is due to physical and chemical reactions between the pipe material
and water.
Some Leading Causes Of Pipe Corrosion Are:
1. Low pH (acid water) typically found on private well water, but is also present in some small
municipal water systems.
2. Other water chemistry causes, such as high levels of dissolved oxygen, high levels of salts
dissolved in the water, and/or corrosion-causing bacteria such as sulfate or iron bacteria.
3. Electrochemical causes, such as improper grounding of electrical appliances to the copper
piping.
4. High velocity of water, relative to size of piping, causing hydraulic wear on the piping, for
example, a recirculating hot water system with a pump driving the water through pipes that
are too small in diameter.
5. Poor plumbing installation practices, including not cleaning or de-burring the pipe properly
and the use of excessive flux in soldering the pipe fittings.
6. Sand or sediment causing hydraulic wear on the piping.
7. Lightning strikes to utility poles where the electricity travels to ground wires connecting to
piping systems.
8. Water that sits in internal plumbing materials for long periods of time without use.
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