The daily round of a water treatment system follows the water from source to tap: check that the intake screen is clear, that the basin inlet and baffle work, that the sand is covered with water, that a 20 liter bucket takes about 4 minutes at the outlet of a 3 square meter filter, that the chlorine stock and drip are running, that the residual at the farthest tap is in range, and that tank lids and tap pads are intact. Record every reading, and treat a missing check as a failed one.
Part of Water Treatment at Scale
Daily checks are the short, fixed inspection round an operator makes each day of every stage of a water treatment system, from intake to the farthest tap.
A Fixed Order Finds Faults Before The Water Does
Most treatment failures are visible hours before the water is bad: a blocked screen, a sand surface with no water on it, an empty chlorine drum. A short round in the same order every day finds them. The checks below use the figures in this section; the chain they cover is in Treatment Chain.
| Stage | Check | In order | If not |
|---|---|---|---|
| Intake | Screen and rack clear; flow reaching the basin | Water flowing, no debris | Clean now |
| Basin | Inlet baffle working; no scum at outlet; sludge level | Even flow across the width; outlet clear | Clean, adjust baffle, schedule desilting |
| Sand filter | Water standing above the sand | Always covered | Emergency: restore water at once, see below |
| Sand filter | Outflow by bucket and watch | 20 L in about 4 min at 5 L/min for 3 m² at 0.1 m/h | Adjust the outlet; if wide open and low, clean the filter |
| Sand filter | Effluent clarity | Clear, no smell | Check ripening and the rate |
| Chlorine | Stock level and drip or dose | Enough for tomorrow; running | Refill; do not run dry |
| Chlorine | Residual after contact and at the farthest tap | 0.5 mg/L after 30 min; 0.2-0.5 mg/L at the tap | Follow the dosing procedure; if cannot restore, advise boiling |
| Tank | Lid, vent screen, overflow, no leaks | Intact | Repair; keep animals out |
| Taps | Pad dry and clean; tap not leaking | Dry and sloped | Fix; remove standing water |
What You Need
- A clipboard or log book with the checklist
- A bucket, a watch and a ruler
- A chlorine test kit and a clean sample bottle
- A turbidity tube for the weekly clarity checks
Method: Walk The Water
Step 1: Start at the intake and walk downstream, in the same order each day.
Step 2: At the filter, look at the sand first. If there is no water on it, treat it as an emergency: restore the water level at once by closing the outlet, because the living layer dies when the sand dries (Biofilm Maturation).
Step 3: Time the bucket at the outlet.
Step 4: Test the residual at the contact tank outlet, then walk to the farthest tap and test again.
Step 5: Write down every number, even the good ones.
Step 6: If any check fails and cannot be fixed on the spot, report it to the committee the same day and, if it affects the residual or the filter, follow the failure procedure (Responding to Failures).
Worked Example: Is The Chlorine Stock Enough?
At 2,000 L/day and a dose of about 5 mg/L, daily chlorine = 5 mg/L × 2,000 L = 10,000 mg = 10 g. With 5% bleach, at 50,000 mg/L, that is 10,000 ÷ 50,000 = 0.2 L = 200 ml a day. A 10 L container lasts 10 ÷ 0.2 = 50 days; a 20 L stock lasts 100 days. Mark the date on each container, because liquid bleach loses strength with age (Dosing Calculation). The daily check is that at least 2 days of stock stand ready, and that the container has not been opened for too long.
The bucket check: a 3 m² filter at 0.1 m/h passes 3 × 0.1 = 0.3 m³/h = 300 L/h = 5 L/min, so a 20 L bucket takes 4 minutes. If it takes 8, the flow is half of the design: 2.5 L/min is 0.05 m/h.
Common Mistakes
- Doing the round in a different order each day. Things get missed.
- Checking the taps but not the filter. The sand surface is the one thing that must not be skipped.
- Recording only failures. The good readings define the normal.
- Having the operator do it alone with no deputy.
Safety
Chemicals and open water
Keep chlorine away from acids, vinegar and ammonia products, and keep the stock where children cannot reach it. Never lean over an open basin or filter box alone; cover them or fence them. Wear gloves and eye protection when handling chlorine stock. Do not enter a tank or box without the confined-space precautions: ventilation, a harness on a line held by a person outside, and a rule that the person outside never goes in after a collapsed worker. Never test the air with a flame.
What’s Next
- Learn next: System Monitoring — what the daily readings mean
- Combine with: Repair Schedule — the longer calendar the daily round sits within