DRINKING WATER
Empowering Water Utilities Through Meter Data
Modernizing water infrastructure requires robust digital systems to manage high-volume metering data. Centralizing this information enables precise leak detection, accurate water balancing, and proactive customer engagement, ultimately driving operational efficiency and long-term sustainability goals.
DRINKING WATER CASE STUDIES AND WHITE PAPERS
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District Heating In France: A V-Cone Customer Success Story
The V-Cone® is widely known for its success as a metering solution in the oil and gas industry, but it’s also a burgeoning solution for many industrial applications, including district steam. The V-Cone’s tolerance for a range of flow conditions and media, as well as available customization, make it a viable, lasting solution for many unique new and retrofit steam applications.
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Vessel Design Impacts Efficiency In PFAS Treatment
Discover how innovative vessel design can dramatically improve PFAS treatment efficiency—cutting costs, extending media life, and simplifying maintenance—while helping utilities stay ahead of tightening water quality regulations.
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Microplastic Removal With Cloth Media Filtration
Pile cloth media filters are a cost-effective and simple solution to prevent microplastics from entering water systems through industrial effluent and municipal wastewater.
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UV Treatment System Fills The Bill For Water Reuse
Small city selects full-featured and low maintenance UV treatment for its water reuse system that easily complies with demanding California Title 22 Regulations.
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Two Decades Later, American Ductile Iron Pipeline Keeps Water And Hope Flowing In Potosí
Nestled at the foot of the Cerro de Potosí – or Cerro Rico (“rich mountain”) – is Potosí, Bolivia. This capital city of the Tomás Frías Province was established almost 500 years ago and is most known for its abundance of silver, which has fueled the area’s economy for centuries. Another unique aspect of Potosí is its location. It is one of the highest cities in the world, with an elevation of more than 4,000 meters [13,000 feet].
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Product Traceability
The Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary defines traceability as “a: to follow the footprints, track, or trail of b: to follow or study out in detail or step by step… c: to discover by going backward over the evidence step by step … d: to discover signs, evidence, or remains of”. At EBAA Iron traceability allows you as the end user or us as the manufacturer to go backward into the production process and discover the signs that reveal the casting properties to the base level.
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EPA Researchers Develop Forecasting Approach To Predict Harmful Cyanobacterial Blooms For U.S. Lakes
Due to climate and land use pressures, there is concern that harmful cyanobacterial blooms (HCBs) may increase in frequency, extent, and magnitude, but it can be difficult to know when and where HCBs may form. EPA’s Safe and Sustainable Water Resources research uses a range of data sources and methods to characterize HCBs in waterbodies.
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The City Of Baxter Minnesota Installs And Starts‐Up An 800 Pound‐Per‐Day Microclor® On‐Site Hypochlorite System In Three Days
The City of Baxter, located in central Minnesota, has always endeavored to deliver superior and reliable service to their customer base with a strong dose of selfreliance.
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6 Ways Communities Are Streamlining Water & Wastewater Asset Lifecycle Management
Here are just a few examples of innovative ways that communities are leveraging Trimble Cityworks, Esri, and partner solutions.
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Why Water Infrastructure Should Be The Priority
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. See more articles on AMERICAN’s Imagine a Day Without Water home page.
DRINKING WATER APPLICATION NOTES
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Dosing Of Sodium Hypochlorite Solution For Drinking Water Disinfection9/22/2022
A water purveyor was in urgent need of a chemically resistant flow instrumentation with a long life of service that allowed reliable and long-term stable dosing of the sodium hypochlorite solution.
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Network Monitors Water Quality In Shale Gas Drilling Region9/2/2011High-pressure injection of water, sand, and chemicals that fracture shale deposits deep underground to free trapped natural gas is employed by drillers tapping the Marcellus shale beds, a geologic deposit that stretches from central New York to Virginia and contains gas believed to be worth hundreds of billions of dollars. By YSI
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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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Preliminary Assessment Of Water Quality In Riviera Grise Near Port-Au-Prince, Haiti10/17/2012
The Riviera Grise drains water from the Cul-de-Sac watershed, Haiti, which covers most of the rural areas along the flood plains and areas that extend into steep hillsides. It also covers urban areas of Port-Au-Prince, the capital city of Haiti.
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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.
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Oxidation Reduction Potential10/29/2021
What is ORP? Oxidation Reduction Potential or Redox is the activity or strength of oxidizers and reducers in relation to their concentration. Oxidizers accept electrons, reducers lose electrons. Examples of oxidizers are: chlorine, hydrogen peroxide, bromine, ozone, and chlorine dioxide. Examples of reducers are sodium sulfite, sodium bisulfate and hydrogen sulfide. Like acidity and alkalinity, the increase of one is at the expense of the other.
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Irrigation Technology In Agriculture: How New Technologies Overcome Challenges1/29/2019
As the world’s population continues to increase at a fast pace, more food and water will be needed to sustain humanity. In the past 50 years, we have tripled our need for water and food, and there are no signs of this trend slowing down. As a result of these conditions, smart, innovative agricultural practices are needed now more than ever. Technology can, and already does, aid agriculture in innumerable ways. One prominent part of agriculture that can use technological innovation to increase efficiency and effectiveness is irrigation.
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Ultrapure Water For Determination of Toxic Elements In Environmental Analyses4/10/2018
In this paper the importance of reagent water quality for toxic element environmental analyses is discussed, and the suitability of fresh ultrapure water produced using MilliporeSigma water purification systems for ICP-OES and ICP-MS trace element analyses in environmental laboratories is demonstrated.
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Bringing Efficiency And New Confidence To BOD₅ Analysis2/4/2013
Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD) analysis is the test everyone loves to hate—and for compelling reasons.
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Application Note: YSI Real-Time Water Quality Monitoring And The IPSWATCH-EMPACT Program12/28/2005The Ipswich and Parker Rivers watersheds lie only a short distance north of Boston, MA. The first settlements in these watersheds began in the early 1600s. Since that time, residents have relied heavily on the natural resources of the Parker and Ipswich Rivers, their coastal estuaries and Plum Island Sound, which is known as the Great Marsh. This ecosystem has been designated and protected by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts as an Area of Critical Environmental Concern (ACEC).
LATEST INSIGHTS ON DRINKING WATER
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No matter where you live in the U.S., you have likely seen headlines about PFAS being detected in everything from drinking water to fish to milk to human bodies. Now, PFAS are posing a threat to the Great Lakes, one of America’s most vital water resources.
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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.
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.