As you will see below ultimately most water treatment comes down to Legionella control in the end. The following are problems associated with water systems that need to be treated:
Biofilm
Biofilm is where bacteria sticks to a surface, causing a slimy layer of bacteria to form.
Corrosion
Corrosion is the effect of metal coming into contact with water or oxygen. This causes corrosion deposits, commonly known as rust. In severe cases this will cause holes in pipework.
Scaling
Scaling is caused by hardness in water. The hardness drops out and onto the metal – think of your kettle at home.
Fouling
Fouling is general debris. Microbiological fouling is the debris of bacteria or biofilm.
All of the above must be prevented as they reduce the effectiveness of a system by enabling biofilm to grow – not only does biofilm prevent heat transfer, it also hides Legionella bacteria. There are various methods of preventing these from occurring which we will go into in future entries.
What is Water Treatment ? 