DRINKING 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
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Building Resilient Water Treatment: How Ozone Systems Help Utilities Prepare for Extreme Weather
Ozone systems build resilience into water treatment. They ensure utilities remain chemically self-sufficient, allow fast recovery from power outages, and handle rapid water quality shifts.
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Protecting The Environment With Environmental Remediation
Environmental remediation involves the removal of pollutants to protect human health and restore ecosystems. Learn more about the various techniques used, and how to ensure these projects are handled professionally.
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'You've Come A Long Way, Baby': The Making Of The Modern Day Fire Hydrant
This article is in support of the Imagine a Day Without Water campaign — a national online movement to raise awareness about the value of water and water infrastructure.
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Fluorometers In Drinking Water Monitoring: Real-Time Tools For Clean, Safe Water
In this blog post, we’ll dive into how fluorometers work, what they measure, and why they’ve become essential for maintaining clean drinking water in a world facing increasing water quality concerns.
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Not All AMI Systems Are Equal: 7 Features That Stand Out
While every AMI system has specific advantages, the exact nature of those advantages depends heavily on the network itself and the technologies it leverages.
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Drinking Up The Election: How Presidential Candidates Are Addressing Water Concerns
Election season is in full swing and while it may not be the “hottest” topic being debated amongst presidential candidates, the topic of water isn’t being ignored as we approach November. Several candidates have addressed the challenges plaguing water and wastewater systems nationwide.
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The Best Way To Remove Manganese From Drinking Water
Manganese has the potential to become a primary contaminant in the future. Therefore, cost-effective methods for removing it are an important consideration when treating drinking water.
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The Digital Utility - Potential Of Smart Water Metering
Using the latest and greatest technology has become commonplace. We use it every day to stay informed and connected. Today, utilities are leveraging digital technology by transforming tasks that were once manual to digital.
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Preserving Pressure, Protecting Service: Upgrading Hydrant Infrastructure In Kent County
When Kent County Water Authority faced the urgent replacement of a 94-year-old hydrant tied to a 1931 cast iron main, they were determined to maintain fire protection and avoid customer disruption.
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When And Where To Use Piping Restraints
Read about standards to follow and techniques to apply for restraining pipe connections in specific conditions and environments.
DRINKING WATER APPLICATION NOTES
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LC-MS Analysis Of PFAS Compounds In EPA 533 After Supelclean™ ENVI-WAX SPE Cleanup8/29/2022
This application note demonstrates the extraction and subsequent analysis of 25 related analytes from water using Supelco SPE cartridges.
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Determination Of Polar Pesticide Residues In Food Of Plant Origin, By And Automate QuPPe Solution9/29/2014
The QuEChERS (Quick-Easy-Cheap-Effective-Rugged-Safe) sample extraction method was developed for the determination of pesticide residues in agricultural commodities.
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Flexible Expansion Joints Provide Protection For Pipelines Subject To Subtle Or Sudden Movement12/7/2020
Flex-Tend flexible expansion joints have a proven record of providing protection for pipelines subject to subtle or sudden movement. As with all products used in the water and wastewater industry, protection is optimized with the selection of the proper assembly incorporated into a sound design. This paper is intended to provide assistance in both of these areas.
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Application Note: Low-Flow Sampling Of Water Quality Parameters Used In Determining Groundwater Stability1/20/2010In April 1996, the U.S. EPA developed and published a document entitled Low-Flow (Minimal Drawdown) Ground-Water Sampling Procedures. The document states that “the most common ground water purging and sampling methodology is to purge wells using bailers or high speed pumps to remove 3 to 5 casing volumes followed by sample collection.” Adverse impacts can occur through this method affecting sample quality by increasing levels of turbidity. These problems can often be mitigated by using low-flow purging and sampling to reduce sampling-induced turbidity. By YSI
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Application Note: Continuous Monitoring Of Drinking Water Provides Assurance Of Safety9/28/2005A water utility in Ohio wanted to learn more about the variability of water quality parameters such as pH, ORP, turbidity, and chlorine. Previously, most of these parameters had been measured by spot sampling protocols with only a few measurements during a daily period. In order to more accurately assess the water variability, the utility used a YSI 6920DW Drinking Water Multiprobe
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Analyzing Total Organic Carbon In Sea Water4/2/2015
The analysis of Total Organic Carbon (TOC) in seawater can be both challenging and expensive. The concentration of organic carbon in seawater is of considerable interest. The effect this matrix can have on TOC analyzers can lead to rapid consumable turnover, costly maintenance and repairs.
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Waste Technologies Transform Problems To Profit9/8/2015
Anaerobic digestion processes that radically improve the quality of wastewater while delivering green energy extracted from biological waste streams are emerging as a profitable way for agricultural and food processing industries cope with the twin impact of drought and pollution challenges.
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LC-MS/MS Analysis Of PFAS Extractables In Polyethersulfone Syringe Filters Using EPA 537.15/18/2022
A key consideration for any PFAS method is to avoid contamination that can impact the accuracy of data, including those coming from sample preparation techniques such as filtration.
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Simplify And Optimize Your Process With Level And Pump Control3/1/2022
Level controllers have evolved to meet today’s environmental challenges and industry demands. Learn how they support improved process management and, ultimately, a better bottom line.
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Veterinary Drug Residue Analysis Using The AutoMate-Q40: An Automated Solution To QuEChERS10/1/2014
QuEChERS is a Quick-Easy-Cheap-Effective-Rugged-Safe extraction method that has been developed for the determination of pesticide residues in agricultural commodities.
LATEST INSIGHTS ON DRINKING WATER
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Water agencies across the U.S. are facing a rapidly evolving regulatory landscape for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) that poses a conundrum: Should they take a cautious or aggressive approach to treating PFAS contamination in their water system?
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The U.S. EPA’s 2026 trichloroethylene (TCE) compliance deadlines are now forcing a concrete shift toward source-zone destruction. In situ chemical oxidation (ISCO), sequenced with enhanced bioremediation, is proving to be the most credible path to groundwater contaminant rebound mitigation.
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Our infrastructure systems have operated in managed deterioration for decades. And not surprisingly, once they deteriorate badly enough and cross over into active failure, all cost discipline disappears.
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Currently, water infrastructure is outdated and fragile, prone to breakages and leaks. Reactive approaches to water infrastructure are only implemented after an incident and are more expensive than simple maintenance fixes. Geotechnical Internet of Things (IoT) devices enable water and wastewater industry professionals to identify and address issues before they escalate into catastrophic events.
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A new study linking certain groundwater sources to higher Parkinson’s risk underscores a broader question for the water sector: how environmental exposures in drinking water may influence long-term health.
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The growing demand for water across a variety of sectors combined with the increasingly understood complexity of emerging contaminants is creating a dynamic marketplace for filtration media. The goal of selecting the right filtration media is not to meet minimum standards but to achieve the right balance of performance, durability, and operational simplicity to ensure long-term compliance and cost-effective operation.
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:
- Source water for a community’s drinking water supply
- Drinking water treatment of source water
- 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.