DRINKING WATER

getty-2045293852-data-water-waves-meter-data 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

  • HeadCell Eliminates Chandler, AZ's Punishing Grit Problem

    Rapid population growth created the need for a plant initially designed for 5 MGD to expand four times over two decades to treat 27 MGD today. With no grit removal the plant struggled with grit since start-up, spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on contractors to remove accumulated grit every 2-3 years. The plant wanted to eliminate their grit problems once and for all. Tired of wasting money, time, and effort on this futile but necessary task, the plant hired Wilson Engineers to evaluate various grit removal technologies to determine which type of system would be capable of eliminating their grit problem.

  • How Pinnacle's QuadBlock® Technology Sets A New Standard

    In this blog, we will delve into the unique features of QuadBlock® technology and how it sets a new standard in the ozone industry.

  • Top 12 Communication Hacks

    As a meter technology company, we understand the importance of approaching challenges with smart solutions and proactive communication. Ultimately, our technology is all about helping customers and utilities to feel empowered, connected, and capable of taking on problems. Master Meter, Inc. created a list of the top 12 communication hacks found to be most successful in 2020. Implement these tactics and watch your utility connect with your customers and build trust with your community.

  • Wastewater Treatment and Reuse - Lake Arrowhead, California

    In 2000, the district’s average water demand was 2.3 million gallons per day (MGD) (363 m3/hr) and was estimated to grow over 20% by 2030. Unfortunately, there was not a sufficient or permanent reliable source of supply to meet future demands.

  • Making Microplastic Identification More Accessible

    Imagine trying to count hundreds, thousands, even millions of tiny particles that are too small to see with the human eye. Now, imagine those tiny particles could be any shape, size, or color and are covered in mud. That’s a challenge that EPA chemist Michaela Cashman, PhD and other EPA researchers are taking on in their microplastics identification research.

  • EPA Researchers Explore Technology To Destroy PFAS

    Per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances, otherwise known as PFAS, are a large group of human-made organic compounds with properties that make many of them toxic and persistent in the environment. PFAS have been manufactured and used since the 1940s in items such as fire-fighting foams, adhesives, cosmetics, paper products, and stain and water repellants. Until now, researchers have been unable to destroy PFAS in a way that has potential for larger scale use. 

  • Pasteurized Equivalent Water Treatment At Tnuva Ba'Emek, Israel

    In the heart of Israel’s Jezreel Valley, Ba’emek Advanced Technologies—part of the Tnuva Group—faced a critical challenge: how to sustainably reuse water extracted from whey during dairy processing without compromising safety or quality.

  • Durable Screen Line Expanded To Meet Vertical And High-Flow Applications

    Water and wastewater plant operators often encounter challenging screening situations that aren’t well served by conventional products. This includes deep channel applications, where space is very limited, as well as high-flow applications. To address these growing demands, Parkson recently expanded its Aqua Caiman® line to include the Aqua Caiman® Vertical and Aqua Caiman® HD.

  • WEDECO UV Disinfection Produces Highly Purified Water In Silicon Valley

    The Santa Clara Valley Water District in San Jose, CA, required additional water supplies to maintain regional economic vitality for its growing community. 

  • EPA Researching The Impacts Of Freshwater Salinization Syndrome

    Freshwater contains natural salts and minerals. However, dramatic increases in salt concentrations are occurring in freshwaters globally due to human activities including road salt application, water softening, mining and oil production, commercial and industrial processes, weathering of concrete, sea level rise, and fertilizer application.  EPA scientists are studying the effects of increasing salinity on environmental health and water quality.

DRINKING WATER APPLICATION NOTES

  • Free Chlorine Measurement In Drinking Water Treatment
    12/21/2005

    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

  • Performance Test Services For UV Advanced Oxidation Systems
    12/1/2025

    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.

  • Pikeville, Kentucky Medical Center Leak Found Despite Ambient Noise
    6/23/2021

    Leaks found in 60 psi high density PE pipe by FELL in less than three hours. Acoustic and CCTV failed to find any leaks after more than a year of investigation. Read the full case study to learn more. 

  • Simplify And Optimize Your Process With Level And Pump Control
    3/1/2022

    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.

  • Real-Time Conductivity Monitoring Estimates Chloride Levels In Minnesota Watershed By Using The Aqua TROLL 200
    11/18/2011
    Monitoring deicing chemical levels can help researchers, city governments, and regulatory agencies understand runoff impacts on surface water, groundwater, and surrounding environments.
  • Municipal Real-Time Water Quality Monitoring
    9/24/2020

    We arm municipalities with actionable data necessary to make informed decisions about water quality in their communities

  • Harmonics Reduction Methods
    4/17/2017

    There are several basic methods for reducing harmonic voltage and current distortion from nonlinear distribution loads such as adjustable frequency drives (AFDs). Following is a description of each method, along with each method’s advantages and disadvantages.

  • Water Treatment In Boilers And Cooling Towers
    10/29/2021

     Most people recognize problems associated with corrosion. Effects from scale deposits, however, are equally important. For example, as little as 1/8" of scale can reduce the efficiency of a boiler by 18% or a cooling tower heat exchanger by 40%!

  • Industry-Specific Applications For UV Technology
    6/17/2024

    In Microelectronics, Aquafine UV systems provide a synergistic approach towards the reduction of trace organics and microbial contamination for ultrapure water.

  • Application Note: Low-Flow Sampling Of Water Quality Parameters Used In Determining Groundwater Stability
    1/20/2010
    In 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

DRINKING WATER PRODUCTS

The OPTIMASS 7400 is a high-end Coriolis mass flowmeter for demanding process and custody transfer (CT) applications. It is the ideal solution when it comes to high accuracy measurement of gases and shear-sensitive or viscous liquids, slurries, very aggressive media or media with a low flow velocity. 

The Series 71P11A Gas Pressure Reducing and Shutoff Valve is a diaphragm-type gas pressure regulating valve designed for use on chlorine, sulfur dioxide and ammonia gas service. The valve is used in a gas dispensing system to prevent liquefaction of the gas by providing a controlled pressure drop in the piping system. Downstream pressure is regulated to a reduced value by adjustment of the control setting. If the downstream pressure exceeds the pressure at which the valve is set, gas flow will be shut off.

Understand your pipe condition without impacting service using ePulse Optimize and ePulse Discovery.

This instrument is designed to be extremely accurate, fast, and simple to use in diverse water quality applications.

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.

High precision, non-contact nephelometer, approved alternative method to US EPA 180.1, for the continuous measurement of turbidity in potable water.

LATEST INSIGHTS ON DRINKING WATER

DRINKING WATER VIDEOS

KC Water is strategically and systematically replacing old water mains. Those in the most need get replaced first.

Bill Gates challenges Jimmy to taste test water from the Omniprocessor, which turns sewage into clean drinking water.

Water and energy are inextricably linked, yet in our 20th-century water systems we use freshwater once then throw it away. With innovations designed to enhance desalination technologies, agricultural runoff, produced water from industry, and inland brackish groundwater that are now seen as untreatable could all be sources of clean, safe, and affordable water.

A group of Congressional Democratic lawmakers from Michigan has proposed legislation to provide $600 million in financial assistance to help Flint deal with its current water crisis.

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.

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.