DRINKING WATER
Using Biological Competition To Suppress Algae Growth
Effective algae control shifts the focus from removal to nutrient management. By leveraging bioaugmentation to outcompete algae for nitrogen and phosphorus, facilities can stabilize pH levels and dissolved oxygen, ensuring long-term pond clarity and consistent wastewater treatment performance.
DRINKING WATER CASE STUDIES AND WHITE PAPERS
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Turning Water Utility Data Into Action: The Power Of Modern Meter Data Management
Smart meters, sensors, and operational systems generate a constant stream of information about water flow, pressure, consumption, and system performance. But data alone doesn't solve problems—it's the ability to understand and act on this information that drives real operational improvements.
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Ultrasonic vs. Radar In The Water Industry
In recent years, the debate about which technology is best suited for level monitoring and open channel monitoring (OCM) applications has taken some traction. There are those who argue that ultrasonic level technology has been uncontested as the standard for level and OCM applications in the water industry. The counter-argument is that radar technology is more effective because it is more robust and accurate than ultrasonic technology.
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American Ductile Iron Pipe Weathers Magnitude 7.1 Earthquake Almost 30 Years After Installation In Alaska
The year was 1989. The place was Anchorage, Alaska. The project was the installation of a gravity sewer line beneath Campbell Lake while it was drained for dam repairs. While this type of project and installation is unique in itself, the pipeline’s performance during a magnitude 7.1 earthquake more than 30 years after it was installed is equally remarkable.
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Meeting A Challenging Deadline For Denver Water And Its 1.5 Million Customers
Denver Water had four months to replace 2,200 feet of water pipe in an urban setting, in the middle of a colorado winter, and AMERICAN was there to help.
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Ozone Demand Testing = Disinfection Project Success
Water and wastewater facilities are increasingly looking to ozone disinfection. A strong and indiscriminant oxidant, ozone can effectively address treatment issues with THMs and DBPs in the disinfection process. Ozone disinfection is also a proactive step toward addressing future rules on endocrine disrupting compounds (EDCs) and other trace organics at both water and wastewater plants. While there are many aspects to ozone disinfection system design, the single most important factor in project success is a thorough understanding of your facility’s ozone demand profile. This article provides an outline of the key factors to make your ozone demand test -and ozone project- a success.
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Quick And Easy Pipe Repair In Virginia Saves Thousands Of Dollars
Learn how JCSA efficiently replaced ten dresser-style couplings on a 16" steel pipe spanning a 600-foot bridge using the versatile HYMAX VERSA coupling, enabling a quick and cost-effective repair without removing the pipe.
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Meeting Customer Demands For Clean Water At Bristol Water
Bristol Water provides clean, fresh drinking water every day to approximately 1.2 million people in the city of Bristol and surrounding areas in the west of England. As part of taking inventory on ways to improve its service, Bristol Water undertook its largest ever program of customer engagement. This invited customers to participate in the decisions Bristol Water makes about the future of their water services.
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Encapsulation Fittings: The Pipe Repair Solution You Didn't Know You Need
Encapsulation fittings offer a solution to pipe repairs involving difficult-to-access lines, critical lines to users such as hospitals, intercity areas, or major traffic arteries.
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White Paper: Understanding Differences Of Boiler Feedwater Pretreatment Equipment
As a water treatment professional, there are several reasons for understanding the various types of boiler pretreatment equipment. It is helpful to grasp all selection criteria for the type of pretreatment. These factors are used for deciding what new equipment to install or why the existing equipment is appropriate or not appropriate. By Dave Christophersen, Veolia Water Technologies
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Reducing Water Loss In Oak Park, IL: A Data-Driven Approach
Discover how the Village of Oak Park faced persistent water loss by implementing a systematic leak detection and mitigation approach.
DRINKING WATER APPLICATION NOTES
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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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A Comparative Study Of On-Line And Laboratory TOC Analyzers For Analysis Of Raw And Finished Drinking Water4/5/2013
Total organic carbon (TOC) analysis is an important indicator of water quality throughout the drinking water treatment process. Raw source water is progressively treated in chemical coagulation, flocculation, sedimentation, and filtration steps to remove particulate matter and natural organic matter (NOM).
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Secret To Disinfection Monitoring For High Chlorine Residual Wastewater Applications8/2/2015
Some wastewater applications require chlorine residuals greater than can be effectively monitored using DPD due to the oxidation of the Wurster dye to a colorless Imine. Such applications include industrial wastewater processes that inherently have a high chlorine demand thereby requiring a more robust monitoring method.
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Free Chlorine Measurement In Drinking Water Treatment12/21/2005
Before water can be used as a safe and reliable source for drinking water, it must be properly treated. Since water is a universal solvent, it comes in contact with several different pathogens, some of which are potentially lethal, and inactivation is accomplished through chemical disinfection and mechanical filtration treatment. This treatment consists of coarse filtration to remove large objects and pre-treatment which includes disinfection using chlorine or ozone
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(E)-2-Nonenal In Beer4/5/2015
Numerous compounds contribute to changes in beer flavor as it becomes stale. One of these compounds, (E)-2-nonenal, has been investigated as a major source of the papery/cardboard flavor that develops in aged beer.
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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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Reduced Bore Electromagnetic Flowmeter10/29/2021
Being able to accurately measure both the quantity and rate of water passing through a water distribution system is crucial to gain an informed understanding of overall efficiency. As such, achieving a measurement that is exact as possible can have a significant impact on key areas. This includes supply planning, maintenance, resource deployment, leakage detection and the overall environment.
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Background And Summary Of Tests For The 2000PV Restraint4/13/2021
The 2000PV is a restraint for PVC pipe and the standardized mechanical joint. This product is the result of years of testing and evaluation and its performance has been proven by thousands of hours of proof tests, as well as third-party evaluations. This report describes the 2000PV through the 12" size.
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Reducing And Reusing Water In Steel Manufacturing2/28/2022
The art of manufacturing steel for industries is well over 100 years old. Within this time, the steel business has fulfilled consumer needs, including construction, transportation, and manufacturing. The steel manufacturing process is quite intensive as it requires a lot of water to cool down the application. Steel plants constantly look for strategies that can help sustain the steel for a longer time by efficiently improving water and energy consumption.
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Performance Test Services For UV Advanced Oxidation Systems12/1/2025
UV AOP performance verification requires a robust test matrix covering design, operating, and control conditions. This process includes on-site execution, sample analysis, and troubleshooting to achieve successful regulatory approval.
LATEST INSIGHTS ON DRINKING WATER
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When people think about agricultural pollution, they often picture what is easy to see: fertilizer spreaders crossing fields or muddy runoff after a heavy storm. However, a much more significant threat is quietly and invisibly building in the ground.
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As water systems become more circular and complex, understanding and managing the subsurface — the hidden half of the water cycle — is becoming a critical enabler of resilience. This article explores the key trends shaping this new reality, from tackling “forever chemicals” to the water strategies redefining heavy industry.
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The White House has finalized plans to roll back rules under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), narrowing its focus and limiting what the current administration claims are needless delays for federal approval of water, energy, and other infrastructure plans. For water and wastewater utilities, the changes could speed up permitting for critical projects, although experts warn the tradeoffs could do more harm than good.
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Setting Global Standards: Inside North America's Only Full-Scale UV Disinfection Validation FacilityPortland's industry-leading facility reaches 100 reactor validations in 23 years.
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Given the maturation of sensor technology, the scientific and operational hurdles to portable lead analysis are somewhat surprising — but surmountable.
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Bathymetric modeling maps underwater terrain. It also helps guide planning, prevent hazards, and build climate-resilient infrastructure.
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.