Modern Water Introduces Oil In Water Monitor Into US Market

Water technology and monitoring company Modern Water has launched a range of oil in water monitoring products in the US and has supplied a Multisensor 1200 volatile organic compound (VOC) monitor to Glendive Water Treatment Plant in Montana to ensure safe drinking water for around 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 Poplar pipeline carries about 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 US oil production, of which about 34 percent is shipped by various pipelines. The Poplar pipeline crosses the Yellowstone River upstream of the Glendive Water Treatment plant.

Modern Water says its VOC monitor, the Multisensor 1200, has significant benefits: it is accurate to low parts per billion concentrations and it has a wide dynamic range, which enables it to be used for a variety of applications. The Multisensor 1200 is currently providing continuous data for Glendive Water Treatment plant operators. Whenever VOCs, or other traces of oils are detected, an alarm will sound. If the benzene levels reach 2ppb, less than half of the maximum contamination level permitted by the EPA, 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.