Less than 18 months after the Medicine Park Water Treatment Plant in Lawton, Oklahoma opened, water operators began noticing higher than normal back pressure and shorter filter runs.  Further investigations revealed that the 30-inch effluent pipe, just past the chemical injection point for chlorine, was lined with heavy scale.  Approximately 130 linear feet past the injection point was heavily scaled and the line had closed to a diameter of 18 inches.  Line replacement would be very difficult and expensive due to a section of the scaled pipe being installed under, and penetrating the floor of the concrete water storage tank.

Looking for a solution to remove heavy scale, the plant superintendent contacted Blue Earth Labs and inquired about its NSF 60 certified, advanced cleaning and infrastructure maintenance solutions.  Blue Earth Labs was able to remove the scale by circulating its Media Master® product through the scaled section of the pipe and allowing it to sit overnight. In the morning, the pipe was flushed and revealed that nearly all the scale was removed and any remaining pieces were loosely lying at the bottom of the pipe.

The cost to replace the 130 linear feet of 30-inch ductile iron pipe was estimated at $220,000, due to a significant portion of the pipe being installed under and penetrating the floor of the water storage tank.  The cost of chemically removing the scale was approximately $17,500. Thus, utilizing chemical cleaning solutions specifically engineered to remove deposits saved the city of Lawton nearly $202,500 while significantly reducing the labor and downtime needed to fix the scaling pipe.

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