Modern Water plc recently launched a range of oil-in-water monitoring products in the U.S. and has supplied a Multisensor 1200 volatile organic compound (VOC) monitor to Glendive Water Treatment Plant in Montana to ensure safe drinking water for approximately 6,000 people.
Glendive Water Treatment Plant’s decision to install the online VOC monitoring equipment came about as a result of an oil spill in January 2015 from the Poplar pipeline into the Yellowstone River. The pipeline carries approximately 42,000 barrels of crude oil each day from producers in eastern Montana and North Dakota, which form part of the Bakken region. The Bakken region contributes more than 1 million barrels per day to U.S. oil production, of which approximately 34% is shipped by various pipelines. The pipeline crosses the Yellowstone River upstream of the Glendive Water Treatment plant.
Modern Water’s VOC monitor, the Multisensor 1200 is accurate to low parts-per-billion concentrations and has a wide dynamic range. The monitor is currently providing continuous data for Glendive Water Treatment plant operators. When VOCs or other traces of oils are detected, an alarm will sound. If the benzene levels reach 2 ppb, less than half of the maximum contamination level permitted by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the monitor triggers an alarm in the main control room and the plant operators will then shutdown the water treatment plant.
Since the monitor was installed it has notified treatment plant staff of one incident where the level of VOCs were higher than normal. This occurred during ice breakup at the end of winter. Due to the monitoring, the situation was handled in a controlled manner and the plant temporarily shut down to preserve clean water in the storage system. An aeration system was put in place and the plant was able to begin treating water again the following day.
Source: Modern Water plc
