Provided by the Bucks County Department of Consumer Protection:
Q. I go to gas stations to fill up all over Bucks County because of the travel I do for work. Recently I went to a station to fill my tank and after driving a short distance up the road, my car started acting funny. It seemed like I may have gotten bad gas. After driving a little further it seemed to get better and back to running normal but I won’t be going back to that station. How is a station monitored concerning the gas they sell? Could there have been water mixed with the gas? – F.F. Bristol
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A. Almost all of the gas stations in Bucks County do have a system in place for this monitoring. The system is called a Veeder-Root System. This computerized system aids the gas station operators in meeting compliance requirements. The system monitors the underground fuel storage tanks while also keeping a record of delivery times and amounts delivered as well as detects when water may have infiltrated the tanks. Our inspectors have been called out on a few occasions when water has indeed found its way into the tanks. When this happens, there are always reports of numerous cars broken down on the side of the road not far from the station whose fuel was compromised.
When a Veeder-Root system is not in place, our inspectors can determine if there is water in the tanks by manually testing. This is considered a “dip test”. Our inspectors use a special paste coated onto a long dipstick that, by its color change, detects water presence in the underground fuel.
For additional information and brochures on various consumer related matters visit the Bucks County Consumer Protection/Weights and Measures Department at http://www.buckscounty.org/docs/community-services-documents/gasstationsfordummies.pdf?sfvrsn=2 or http://www.buckscounty.org/government/CommunityServices/ConsumerProtection/ConsumerTip.
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