DRINKING WATER

waukesha U.S. Pipe Supplies Nearly 24 miles Of Pipe To Support Clean Water Efforts In Waukesha, WI

U.S. Pipe supplies 34 miles of 30-inch ductile iron pipe for Waukesha’s Lake Michigan water project, delivering reliable, high-pressure infrastructure for generations of residents.

DRINKING WATER CASE STUDIES AND WHITE PAPERS

  • Water Industry Awards - Alliancing And Partnership Initiative Of The Year Submission

    As an innovation-driven leak detection specialist, Ovarro’s research and development team works closely with utilities to develop best-in-class technologies. The Sheffield-based global company partnered with Anglian Water to develop a revolutionary remote leak detection device, Enigma3hyQ and cloud-based data platform, PrimeWeb.

  • EPA Research Provides Important Information On Health Effects Of Perchlorate Exposure

    To further our understanding of the effect of perchlorate exposure on the developing brain, there is a need for studies of perchlorate exposure and developmental neurotoxicity health outcomes.

  • A Golden Spike In Revenue, Efficiency, And Customer Service With The R900® System

    In 2008, the public utility manager in Ogden City, Utah sent out a request for proposal on a system-wide changeout of its meters, absolute encoders, and radio frequency meter interface units (RF MIUs), with a goal of eliminating estimating and replacing all their meters with AMR technology to read year-round. Read the full case study to learn more.

  • In The Field With EPA: Seagrass Sampling To Expand A Nutrient Pollution Indicator

    Native seagrasses are a foundation of healthy marine ecosystems and provide important ecosystem services. Threats to water quality, like excess nutrients, create unfavorable conditions for seagrass. To address this problem, EPA is working with partners in Puerto Rico on a new project to evaluate the potential applicability of a nutrient pollution indicator (NPI) for tropical seagrasses. 

  • Community-Driven Algal Monitoring: Empowering Local Stewards

    As algal blooms become more frequent and severe due to nutrient pollution and climate change, community-driven monitoring efforts are playing a vital role in safeguarding water quality and ecosystem health. Local stewards—citizens, educators, nonprofit groups, and tribal communities—are increasingly stepping up to fill critical data gaps, improve early detection, and advocate for more responsive environmental management. 

  • Using ATP In A Legionella Water Management Plan

    Between December 2014 and September 2015 there were three clusters of Legionnaires’ disease outbreaks in the Bronx, New York City. Legionnaires’ disease, a severe form of pneumonia, is caused by inhaling aerosolized water containing certain pathogenic strains of Legionella bacteria. Legionella thrive in warm, stagnant water with low disinfection residuals such as hot water tanks, hot tubs, cooling towers, decorative fountains and showerheads.

  • Pollution Early-Warning Technology Chosen By Anglian Water

    Anglian Water has become the first utility to adopt new cloud-based technology to detect rising main sewer bursts. The UK utility is implementing early-warning system BurstDetect, as part of its drive to eliminate serious pollution events in its region by 2025.

  • EPA Researchers Develop Tool To Assess Onsite Non-Potable Water Reuse For Buildings Across The U.S.

    Increasing pressure on water resources has led to greater water scarcity and a growing demand for enough clean water. Many communities across the country have initiated, or are in the process of developing, centralized systems for planned water reuse. Water reuse is the concept of intentionally recycling, treating, and reusing alternative water sources. Federal government agencies and the water user community are coordinating their efforts to advance the adoption of water reuse and ensure the security, sustainability, and resilience of water resources. The National Water Reuse Action Plan (WRAP) describes these collaborative actions.

  • Sniffing For Leaks: Gas Leak Detection Saves A Colorado Utility Thousands

    A small water district in Breckenridge, CO, was experiencing notably high water loss from November of 2015 through April of 2016. The apparent discrepancies in usage versus production led the utility to seek out the source(s) of the water loss.

  • Removing Hexavalent Chromium From Groundwater Supplies

    This chromium removal pilot study was conducted for the County of San Bernardino, CA, at their CSA 70 Zone J - Well 5 treatment facility. Chromium in the CSA 70 Zone J – Well 5 raw water source exceeded the current maximum contaminant level (MCL) and was in need of a solution.

DRINKING WATER APPLICATION NOTES

DRINKING WATER PRODUCTS

CoriolisMaster FCB400 series of compact Coriolis mass flowmeters feature low pressure drop, high capacity, intuitive ABB common display, five modular I/O's and HART communication.

The WATERFLUX 3100 is an electromagnetic flowmeter (EMF) for all standard applications with raw, potable or abstraction water. It is the ideal solution for all general flow applications where reliable flow measurement with sufficient yet not extremely high accuracy is required. With its rectangular and reduced cross-section the EMF enables a stable measurement even at low flow rates. This way, the WATERFLUX 3100 offers a much larger turndown ratio (1000:1) than mechanical flowmeters (e.g. turbine meters) in drinking water distribution networks.

The PT2 is a rugged, lab-accurate water quality pocket tester with simple, one-button functionality.

Looking for a Skid Mounted Complete Metering System, but your equipment room is short on space? The New CHEM-FEED CFCS is engineered for small spaces. It features a compact design and small footprint. The skid is constructed of tough, lightweight chemical and UV-resistant polyethylene, and it ships fully assembled with all necessary components for easy install and fast startup.  Wall or Shelf Mount. One or Two Pump Models.

The Sentryx software enabled Super Centurion hydrant brings together the infrastructure platform you trust with the data intelligence to make informed, actionable decisions. 

Learn about KROHNE's ultrasonic clamp-on flowmeter for temporary flow measurement of liquids.

LATEST INSIGHTS ON DRINKING WATER

DRINKING WATER VIDEOS

Rather drink sewage water than LA tap water any day.

The YSI Pro2030 DO/conductivity water quality meter is ideal for any field application. The instrument is rugged and extremely simple to use.

Learn how a tool-free, verifiable locking system streamlines complex installations like deep-bore directional drilling and provides the security needed for critical infrastructure.

Why have only 20% of water utilities deployed an AMI fixed network?  If you are considering a fixed network, I've got something you seriously need to consider prior to soliciting quotations or putting out your RFP. The question is, who is going to manage the network infrastructure? Do you have qualified individuals within your utility ready to continuously monitor, maintain and manage the network? In this video, we're going to discuss some of the options available for water utilities today: a utility managed network versus a network as a service agreement (NaaS).

How researchers at UC Merced are developing a better understanding of the three sources of water upon which California depends in order to adapt to the effects of environmental changes and make better use of this most precious of our natural resources.

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.