While hurricanes like Harvey and Irma can cause multiple breaches in a water system, sediment already accumulated in water tanks can add to the problem by hosting a wide variety of new contaminants. In this situation, chlorine reserves may quickly be overwhelmed, leaving the system at risk.
One common fix to a breach is a chlorine burn. Increasing chemical disinfectant to clean water mains may be the first choice, but water storage tanks and towers have two significant dimensions missing from the piping: the large volume of water in tanks and sediment buildup on the interior tank floor. Chemicals alone are
