DRINKING WATER

GettyImages-2168753167_450_300 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.

DRINKING WATER CASE STUDIES AND WHITE PAPERS

DRINKING WATER APPLICATION NOTES

  • Removal Of PFCs With Activated Carbon
    12/30/2013

    In recent years, various perflorinated chemicals (PFCs) have come under increasing scrutiny due to their presence in the environment, in animals, and in human blood samples. There are two major classes of PFCs: perfluoroalkyl sulfonates such as perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS) and long chain perfluoroalkyl carboxylates such as perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorononanoic acid (PFNA).

  • Aries Arsenic Reduction
    1/7/2026

    Arsenic has no smell, taste, or color when dissolved in water even in high concentrations. It is a potential concern to those who live in areas with high natural deposits of arsenic, receive runoff from orchards, or from glass and electronic production waste. Long-term exposure to arsenic can cause a number of harmful effects on the human body including cancer, skin lesions, cardiovascular disease and diabetes, among others.

  • Operations And LRV Calculations At Southwest Pipeline Project Drinking Water Treatment Facility
    4/14/2016

    This presentation will discuss the operation of a 4 MGD pressurized two-stage Ultrafiltration (UF) plant over a 14 month period at the Oliver-Mercer-North Dunn (OMND) Drinking Water Treatment Facility, North Dakota.

  • Panametrics Technology Helps Track Potable Water Leaks
    4/22/2022

    Concerned about the volume of water leakages throughout their network, a Swedish water authority turned to Panametrics flowmeters to map their municipal water network -- enabling quick leak identification and fixes.

  • Analyzing Total Organic Carbon In Sea Water
    4/2/2015

    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.

  • Reduce Or Eliminate Water Hammer With Valve Positioners
    5/19/2022

    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.

  • Veterinary Drug Residue Analysis Using The AutoMate-Q40: An Automated Solution To QuEChERS
    10/1/2014

    QuEChERS is a Quick-Easy-Cheap-Effective-Rugged-Safe extraction method that has been developed for the determination of pesticide residues in agricultural commodities.

  • Network Monitors Water Quality In Shale Gas Drilling Region
    9/2/2011
    High-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
  • 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.

  • Application Note: Miami Conservancy District Uses Nitrate Screening As Conjunctive Management Tool
    1/20/2010
    Tasked with monitoring a watershed covering nearly 4,000 square miles, almost 2,300 miles of rivers and streams, and a huge aquifer that provides drinking water for more than 1.2 million people, water quality monitoring specialists at the Miami Conservancy District (MCD) in Dayton, Ohio, have their hands full. By YSI

DRINKING WATER PRODUCTS

The 14”– 16” Insta-Valve Plus 250 from Hydra-Stop is the next generation of permanent, insertable gate valves offering increased strength, improved performance, and simplified installation and operation.

Loprest designs and manufactures granular activated carbon (GAC) treatment systems for taste and odor applications, chlorine removal, PFC’s, 1 2 3 TCP, PCE/TCE, 1 4 dioxane, and many other contaminants. Loprest has a long, successful history in the selection and application of the proper carbon media for the application.

The new SITRANS FMT020 transmitter is a high performance, robust, intelligent product, designed for a wide range of applications requiring highly accurate and reliable flow measurement of conductive fluids.

The High-Resolution Encoder (HR-E®) uses non-contact, field-proven, light-emitting diode technology to provide an eight-digit reading, while also eliminating the friction and wear of traditional mechanical encoders.

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.

The Lmic is an easy-to-use, low-cost electronic listening stick combined with a ground microphone. It is ideal for general leak-sounding operations and can be fitted with either a tripod foot (for use as a ground microphone) or probe rods (for sounding at fittings or in the soft ground).

LATEST INSIGHTS ON DRINKING WATER

  • People around the globe are trying to figure out how to save, conserve, and reuse water in a variety of ways, including reusing treated sewage wastewater and removing valuable salts from seawater. But for all the clean water they may produce, those processes leave behind a type of liquid called brine. I’m working on getting the water out of that potential source, too.
  • Restoring eelgrass beds is critical because they provide habitat for many kinds of marine life, improve water quality by filtering out pollution, and the plant’s root system stabilizes the sediment on the seafloor, protecting shorelines from erosion.

  • 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.
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • 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.

DRINKING WATER VIDEOS

North Carolina’s Cape Fear River is a massive water system. It stretches across the lower half of the state, collecting runoff from 29 counties and providing water to millions of people. But in the city of Wilmington, where the river meets the Atlantic Ocean, the water has residents worried.

Through a partnership with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife’s (CDFW) Law Enforcement Division – DWR is able to provide funding for Luna, a seven-year-old German Shepard from the Czech Republic, who is trained to protect her handler, apprehend suspects, and detect various threats to Delta species and environments.

O’Brien, Texas is just one of thousands of small communities in the United States that struggle to find the resources to ensure that the water coming out of the tap is safe to drink. The recent budget proposal by the Trump administration will only make matters worse. Watch this documentary short produced by Tom Rosenberg and Earth Institute fellow Madison Condon details one shrinking town’s drinking water crisis.

IPR'S CIPP liner system for gravity-flow sewers and culverts is the most proven, cost-effective trenchless pipeline rehabilitation system in the industry. It is also the most widely specified form of trenchless pipeline rehabilitation.

Water infrastructure projects often face extreme installation conditions, from deep-trench burials to exposed bridge crossings. Ensuring long-term reliability requires a material capable of withstanding environmental stressors that can compromise other piping options. Ductile iron pipe offers superior durability, maintaining its structural integrity regardless of temperature fluctuations or UV exposure. Watch the full video to explore these benefits in action.

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.