CBU Operations Monroe Water Treatment Plant: Sampler Noodle

The Challenge 

Have you ever dropped a screw or a ring down the sink and had to spend extra time retrieving it? Remember how frustrated you were with yourself? A similar thing was happening at the Monroe Water Treatment Plant. City of Bloomington Utilities (CBU) workers there routinely use a long metal pole to collect water samples for analysis. Workers at the plant often found themselves dropping the sampler into the water by accident. Because the tool was metal, it would sink to the bottom of the tank. Retrieving the sampling tool was frustrating and annoying. 

The Idea 

It is difficult to keep from dropping the sampler, but what if there were a way that we could keep the tool from sinking when it was dropped? That was the thought when CBU Operations Division created the “sampler noodle.” Just like it sounds, workers attached a pool noodle to the sampler, both extending the reach of the worker using the sampler while also creating a form of buoyancy should the worker drop the sampler in the tank. 

The Cost 

Buying and affixing a pool noodle to the sampler presented an extremely cost effective and quick fix for the problem at hand. It also cuts down on the number of new samplers needed now they were not being lost at the bottom of the tank or damaged when dropped. 

The Benefit

Innovations such as this one, using common items one can buy from the Dollar Store may seem simple and small, but their impact is large. Dropping a sampler is still an annoyance, but the recovery is much faster and the instrument remains intact and no longer needs replacement. 

Metadata

City Department(s): City of Bloomington Utilities, Operations Division 

City Point of Contact: Don Gramlich, Water Treatment Plant Superintendent

Partner(s): N/A

Partner(s) Point(s) of Contact: N/A

Type of Innovation: Mechanical

Date Implemented: Early 2020