DRINKING WATER

GettyImages-2153059351-gloved-hand-with-test-tube-testing-water From Utility To Ally: Smart Water Management For Customer Satisfaction

Smart water technologies improve customer satisfaction through accurate billing, leak detection, and data-driven insights, helping utilities build trust, reduce losses, and enhance operational efficiency.

DRINKING WATER CASE STUDIES AND WHITE PAPERS

  • Connecting Water Technologies For A True Smart Network

    Having worked in partnership with municipalities and water utilities for 40 years, Ovarro understands the pressures to cut leakage has never been greater. Ovarro’s associate product line manager for leakage, Chris Moore, shares insights into how to become smarter in the detection of leaks

  • Water Sustainability: Encouraging And Enabling Change With Measurement

    Learn how the water industry can encourage sustainable use of this precious resource. 

  • Water Authority Deploys More Efficient Solution For Now And The Future

    Following the Reduction of Lead in Drinking Water Act announced by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in 2013, Water Authority of Dickson County decided to look beyond its current metering manufacturing company and evaluate other solutions in the market. Leaders from WADC began conversations with their counterparts across Tennessee to find new, longer-lasting and more accurate meters, as well as a solution that would help WADC more strategically detect leaks and efficiently manage its time.

  • Which Is Better For Water Disinfection, Sodium Hypochlorite Or Chlorine Gas?

    Although they work similarly, sodium hypochlorite and chlorine gas are very different. Learn the pros and cons of each chlorine composition.

  • What The Industry Is Saying About The EPA Contaminant Candidate List 5

    It is assumed that most individuals involved in the advocacy, treatment, and regulation of drinking water in the U.S. have similar opinions on the importance of delivering clean, safe drinking water. But determining how regulatory steps regarding daily practices at water treatment plants (WTPs) should evolve tends to reveal some differences in opinion. Here are some recent industry reactions to the proposed Drinking Water Contaminant Candidate List 5 (CCL 5).

  • This Is The Water Meter Empowering Utilities To Build Resilient Water Networks

    Advanced residential meters now deliver real-time insight and remote flow control, helping utilities respond faster to leaks, weather events, and operational challenges while strengthening long-term network resilience.

  • Solutions For Every Stage Of The Water Lifecycle

    Solving daunting water scarcity challenges serve as the battle cry for the modernization of the water industry; and for many addressing these challenges, is their north star in their pursuit of innovation in water design and management.

  • AMR System Delivers Outstanding Efficiency While Improving Water Conservation In Pacific Northwest

    Public Utility District No. 1 of Skagit County (Skagit PUD) in Washington state was at a crossroads, facing a number of challenges related to its meter reading system. Because the utility was using a touch-read/visual-read system, it was highly dependent on its water meter readers’ acquired route knowledge. Two of the PUD’s three meter readers were planning to retire soon, and it would take at least a year to hire and train new employees to fill their experienced shoes. At the same time, the community was growing at a steady pace, and a significant number of its existing meters were reaching the end of their useful lifecycle.

  • How The North Burleigh Water Treatment Plant Improved Water Quality With Innovative Technology

    See how Bismarck’s North Burleigh Water Treatment Plant boosted production 64%, reduced operating costs 20%, and improved treatment reliability using an advanced ozone system upgrade.

  • The Importance Of Control Valve Training

    By understanding how to implement a pressure management program, the amount of recoverable water losses can be staggering, as well as have a significant reduction in pipe breakages.

DRINKING WATER APPLICATION NOTES

  • Determination Of Polar Pesticide Residues In Food Of Plant Origin, By And Automate QuPPe Solution
    9/29/2014

    The QuEChERS (Quick-Easy-Cheap-Effective-Rugged-Safe) sample extraction method was developed for the determination of pesticide residues in agricultural commodities.

  • Determination Of Pesticide Residues In Tea
    4/10/2015

    In 2012, Americans consumed well over 79 billion servings of tea, which is just over 3.60 billion gallons.

  • Water Treatment In Boilers And Cooling Towers
    10/29/2021

     Most people recognize problems associated with corrosion. Effects from scale deposits, however, are equally important. For example, as little as 1/8" of scale can reduce the efficiency of a boiler by 18% or a cooling tower heat exchanger by 40%!

  • Optimizing Brine Flow In A Geothermal Power Plant
    1/27/2022

    Different flow meter technologies were used in this geothermal power plant to monitor and measure brine. However, these traditional technologies failed. That’s where Panametrics PT900 Portable Ultrasonic Flowmeter was able to help.

  • HOD™ (Hydro-Optic Disinfection) UV Water Treatment For Bottled Water
    3/27/2025

    The HOD™ (Hydro-Optic Disinfection) UV water treatment system by Atlantium Technologies represents a groundbreaking advancement in drinking water disinfection, particularly for the bottled water industry.

  • Complete Flow Solutions
    11/11/2024

    Siemens’ extensive portfolio includes various flow measurement technologies, such as Coriolis, clamp-on ultrasonic, vortex, and differential pressure meters, catering to a wide range of industrial needs.

  • Real-Time Water Quality Data For Agriculture
    9/23/2020

    We arm farmers with mission-critical water data to help enhance crop yield and taste. KETOS delivers valuable insights for fluctuations in deficiency and toxicity.

  • Municipal Real-Time Water Quality Monitoring
    9/24/2020

    We arm municipalities with actionable data necessary to make informed decisions about water quality in their communities

  • Activated Carbon And Adsorption Of Trichloroethylene (TCE) And Tetrachloroethylene (PCE)
    12/30/2013

    Trichloroethylene (TCE) and Tetrachloroethylene (PCE) are two of the most common solvents that contaminate groundwater supplies in the United States. Both solvents see frequent use in the extraction of fat, in the textile industry, in the production of various pharmaceutical and chemical products. TCE is also used as a degreaser from fabricated metal parts, and PCE serves as a component of aerosol dry-cleaning solvents.

  • Biofouling Control In Cooling Towers With A Halogen Stabilizer
    10/22/2020

    Biofouling in cooling towers is undesirable because it can reduce heat transfer efficiency, restrict water flow, and accelerate corrosion rates. Of even greater concern is the fact that pathogen growth in cooling towers can lead to disease transmission. Given the favorable growth environment of a cooling tower, these microorganisms can reproduce, proliferate and form complex biofilm communities. Legionella bacteria, which cause Legionnaires’ disease, are one of the greatest concerns from a public health standpoint because infections are often lethal and cooling towers are the most frequently reported non-potable water source of Legionnaires’ disease outbreaks (Llewellyn 2017).

DRINKING WATER PRODUCTS

From the experts in chlorine management comes a multi-parameter water analysis system offering both chlorine measurement and control in one versatile instrument. Tailor the modular MicroChem®3 to your individual application with up to three measurement parameters. Designed with extensive customer input, the easy and innovative system includes an intuitive touchscreen display, menu-driven software to easily guide users through set-up and operation, and a USB interface for software updates and data log downloads.

The Singer In-Line Strainer is carefully designed to protect valves and regulators from pipeline debris, so utilities don’t have to worry about costly maintenance, downtime, and repairs. Manufactured in ductile iron with corrosion-resistant stainless-steel screen, the screen design provides a smooth laminar flow, which is ideal for locations ahead of automatic control valves.

HYMAX GRIP  joins and restrains a wide selection of pipes of different types and diameters, easily and reliably. Due to its patented design, it allows the joining of pipes of the same or different materials and diameters and preventing axial pipe movement.

Adjusting chemical dose based on flow or setting a fixed chemical dose can be very expensive. With a system that provides Real-Time Control, you can significantly lower chemical costs, quickly adjust for loading changes, and enjoy the peace of mind in knowing your effluent phosphorus levels are within permit range.

The OPTISONIC 7300 Biogas is an ultrasonic flowmeter for low pressure biogas, landfill and sewage gas applications. The flowmeter is ideally suited to measure biogas with a high CO2 content as well as small amounts of other media like H2S, nitrogen, hydrocarbons or condensation water. Its corrosion resistant titanium transducers provide a strong ultrasonic signal into the gas. The signal processing of the meter allows a better detection of small, strongly dampened acoustic signals.

Say hello to the Myron L Company ULTRAPENx2™ PTBT6 Nitrate & Temp pen. It features an array of high-performance features.

LATEST INSIGHTS ON DRINKING WATER

DRINKING WATER VIDEOS

Did you know satellites can measure Earth’s oceans from space? The Jason-3 satellite, set to launch in July 2015, will collect critical sea surface height data, adding to a satellite data record going back to 1992.

The Western Governors' Drought Forum webinar “Once Marginal, Now Crucial: The Growing Demand for Re-used, Produced, and Brackish Water” explores the technological and regulatory obstacles to utilizing re-used, produced, and brackish water.

Toxins from harmful algal blooms are increasingly contaminating source waters, as well as the drinking water treatment facilities that source waters supply. EPA researchers are helping the treatment facilities find safe, cost effective ways to remove the toxins and keep your drinking water safe.

How much water does it take to make a hamburger? How about to manufacture a car? Having experienced growing up with limited resources living in a refugee camp in India, Anil Ahuja is leading a movement to design sustainable cities and systems that protect the earth and the people who live on it.

Scientists are developing robots that might someday be able to creep through the pitch-black mines to help prevent spills. A 2015 spill from Colorado’s Gold King Mine unleashed 3 million gallons of water that fouled rivers in three states with toxins.

ABOUT DRINKING WATER

In most developed countries, drinking water is regulated to ensure that it meets drinking water quality standards. In the U.S., the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) administers these standards under the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA)

Drinking water considerations can be divided into three core areas of concern:

  1. Source water for a community’s drinking water supply
  2. Drinking water treatment of source water
  3. Distribution of treated drinking water to consumers

Drinking Water Sources

Source water access is imperative to human survival. Sources may include groundwater from aquifers, surface water from rivers and streams and seawater through a desalination process. Direct or indirect water reuse is also growing in popularity in communities with limited access to sources of traditional surface or groundwater. 

Source water scarcity is a growing concern as populations grow and move to warmer, less aqueous climates; climatic changes take place and industrial and agricultural processes compete with the public’s need for water. The scarcity of water supply and water conservation are major focuses of the American Water Works Association.

Drinking Water Treatment

Drinking Water Treatment involves the removal of pathogens and other contaminants from source water in order to make it safe for humans to consume. Treatment of public drinking water is mandated by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in the U.S. Common examples of contaminants that need to be treated and removed from water before it is considered potable are microorganisms, disinfectants, disinfection byproducts, inorganic chemicals, organic chemicals and radionuclides.

There are a variety of technologies and processes that can be used for contaminant removal and the removal of pathogens to decontaminate or treat water in a drinking water treatment plant before the clean water is pumped into the water distribution system for consumption.

The first stage in treating drinking water is often called pretreatment and involves screens to remove large debris and objects from the water supply. Aeration can also be used in the pretreatment phase. By mixing air and water, unwanted gases and minerals are removed and the water improves in color, taste and odor.

The second stage in the drinking water treatment process involves coagulation and flocculation. A coagulating agent is added to the water which causes suspended particles to stick together into clumps of material called floc. In sedimentation basins, the heavier floc separates from the water supply and sinks to form sludge, allowing the less turbid water to continue through the process.

During the filtration stage, smaller particles not removed by flocculation are removed from the treated water by running the water through a series of filters. Filter media can include sand, granulated carbon or manufactured membranes. Filtration using reverse osmosis membranes is a critical component of removing salt particles where desalination is being used to treat brackish water or seawater into drinking water.

Following filtration, the water is disinfected to kill or disable any microbes or viruses that could make the consumer sick. The most traditional disinfection method for treating drinking water uses chlorine or chloramines. However, new drinking water disinfection methods are constantly coming to market. Two disinfection methods that have been gaining traction use ozone and ultra-violet (UV) light to disinfect the water supply.

Drinking Water Distribution

Drinking water distribution involves the management of flow of the treated water to the consumer. By some estimates, up to 30% of treated water fails to reach the consumer. This water, often called non-revenue water, escapes from the distribution system through leaks in pipelines and joints, and in extreme cases through water main breaks.

A public water authority manages drinking water distribution through a network of pipes, pumps and valves and monitors that flow using flow, level and pressure measurement sensors and equipment.

Water meters and metering systems such as automatic meter reading (AMR) and advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) allows a water utility to assess a consumer’s water use and charge them for the correct amount of water they have consumed.