There is an old saying that April showers bring May
flowers. For station operators, the
season can also bring a whole set of challenges. Often, the winter thaw and rainy spring can
result in containment sumps and spill buckets full of water. There are many possibilities for the causes,
ranging from the combination of high groundwater and deteriorated or improperly
sealed piping penetrations, to lids with missing gaskets, or that have been
re-installed without the proper clamps or bolts tightened properly.
Containment sumps are designed to be watertight and kept dry, so that
there is sufficient capacity to retain product in the event of a release from
the piping system. The danger of full
sumps highlights several major issues. First, standing water is a primary cause for corrosion to submersible motors and other metallic piping components in sumps. This poses not only an environmental impact, but also a potential economic impact (think 50 gallons of water into 10,000 gallons of ethanol blend) Second, if the water is entering from piping penetrations during times of
high groundwater, then product can just as easily escape from the same points when the water
table is lower. Also, because water
is heavier than most fuel products, if the sump is full of water, then any
product released would float to the top, and could overflow out to uncontained
backfill surrounding the sump, causing a direct and immediate environmental
impact.
