DRINKING WATER
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DRINKING WATER CASE STUDIES AND WHITE PAPERS
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How WWTPs Can Get Greener Grass On The Other Side Of The IIoT
The next big thing is here and it’s the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT). To understand how the IIoT applies to a wastewater treatment plant, look no further than your front yard.
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What You Need To Know About Mixed Oxidant Solution
The main component of mixed oxidant solution (MOS) is chlorine and its derivatives hypochlorite and hypochlorous acid (ClO−, HClO). It also contains trace amounts of other chlor-oxygen species which work synergistically with the hypochlorite/hypochlorous acid to improve efficacy and performance. MOS is made from brine (salt) and energy, and is used for disinfecting, sanitizing and reducing the risk of infection due to pathogenic microorganisms in water and in other applications. It is particularly useful for customers who have specific challenges such as controlling biofilm or reducing disinfection byproducts exacerbated by biofilms.
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Richland Springs Special Utility District, Texas Case Study
The Richland Special Utility District found that naturally-occurring radionuclides in their raw water source exceeded Maximum Contaminant Levels (MCL’s) for Gross Alpha Emitters and Combined Radium. The district selected Water Remediation Technology's Z-88 Radium Removal Process as a cost-effective solution to reduce the gross alpha and radium content. In this case study, learn how the water quality now successfully meets regulatory requirements.
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Utility Transformation — From WWTP To Reuse Facility
Facing state Department of Environmental Quality mandates, an Arizona wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) took on a large-scale expansion project and effluent-quality upgrade to become a state-of-the-art water reclamation facility.
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Analytics For Water Utilities: The Key To Maximizing AMI Value
Among the many challenges water utilities face are aging infrastructure, an aging workforce, water loss control, asset management, and paying for necessary infrastructure investments. Improving relationships with customers is also a challenge for one in five respondents to a 2019 American Water Works Association (AWWA) survey.
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Tri-City Water Infrastructure Partnership: When 'We' Is Better Than 'Me'
This is a story about three cities in North Carolina: Albemarle, Concord and Kannapolis. Albemarle, 40 miles east of Charlotte, had excess capacity in its water system and needed new customers to defray costs.
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Planning For Total Resiliency In Fighting Contaminants Of Emerging Concern
In the constant flow of drinking water and wastewater treatment systems, operators have precious little time to waste. When unexpected changes arise, maintaining balance throughout the process is key.
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Dechlorination Of Boiler Makeup Water At Baseload Generation Facility
Atlantium Technologies installed a HOD UV system at a North American baseload generation facility to replace GAC filters and provide efficient and effective water treatment. The system ensures low chlorine concentration and reduces bacterial growth.
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The Role Of AI In One Water: Transforming Non-Revenue Water Management With LeakZon
One of the greatest challenges in achieving a holistic water management philosophy is Non-Revenue Water (NRW) — water that is lost before reaching consumers due to leaks, theft, or inaccurate metering.
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Loveland Takes Guesswork Out Of LCR Requirements
The City of Loveland’s Water Utility has served customers for decades, proudly bringing water “from snowy caps to Loveland taps.” When the Lead and Copper Rule went into effect in the early 1990s, it was labor-intensive to find a pool of people in the correct tier to complete the sampling.
DRINKING WATER APPLICATION NOTES
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Flow Monitoring At Sea Water Reverse Osmosis Plant Improves Water Distribution1/6/2025
Read about a desalination plant that was in need of a practical verification methodology for permanent and/or temporary (portable) solutions on large pipes.
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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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Solution For Algae Blooms12/17/2015
Harmsco® Filtration Products is pleased to offer a solution to the ever increasing blue-algae blooms in water sources. A multi-barrier approach is necessary to physically remove intact (algae and cyanobacteria) before they rupture in the treatment process and then remove extracellular cyanobacteria through adsorption.
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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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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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Reduce Or Eliminate Water Hammer With Valve Positioners5/19/2022
Water hammer, which can occur in just about any pumping system and even steam systems, can lead to pipe breakage, equipment damage or even total system failure. Addressing water hammer at the source is the savviest and most cost-effective way to handle the issue.
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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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Hemodialysis Patient Health10/29/2021
Controlling dialysate quality is critically important to hemodialysis patient health. Complications as minor as nausea and fatigue or as severe as metabolic acidosis and sepsis can result if dialysate composition is incorrect. All the factors that ultimately affect dialysate composition must therefore be carefully monitored and controlled: proper proportioning and mixing of concentrates with water; the quality of water mixed with concentrates to form dialysate; and the quality of water used in the reprocessing of hemodialyzers, system maintenance and disinfection.
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Water Determination In Liquefied Petroleum Gas Using GC BID And Ionic Liquid Column Watercol™6/28/2018
Water in petrochemical feedstocks can cause problems for processors. Freezing of pipe lines and valves and poisoning of expensive catalysts are just a few examples.
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Groundwater Remediation12/1/2020
Good quality groundwater is an important natural resource. It provides drinking water for the public as well as process water for industrial applications. Groundwater can become contaminated through a number of ways including improper handling of process chemicals or disposal of wastes.
LATEST INSIGHTS ON DRINKING WATER
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Einstein once said of compound interest, "He who understands it, earns it. He who doesn't, pays it." The same logic of compounding applies to the organic sediment accumulating on the floor of your drinking water reservoir. The longer you wait to address it, the more exponentially expensive it becomes to fix.
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The April 1 snowpack measurement has long been the single most important number in western water management, considered a strong proxy for how much water the mountains are holding in reserve. But in 2026, that savings account has been woefully deficient.
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Why Colorado River Negotiations Stalled, And How They Could Resume With The Possibility Of AgreementThe five most common sources of conflict between people are values, data, relationships, interests, and structure. The current Colorado River negotiations include all five.
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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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Generative design strengthens PR29 investment cases by enabling rigorous optioneering, accurate cost estimates, and clear outcome alignment, helping water companies meet rising regulatory expectations.
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.