DRINKING WATER
Smarter Control For Seasonal Demand: How Aquana Smart Valves Help Utilities Manage Frequent Water Shutoffs
Managing water service in high-turnover communities requires balancing operational costs with infrastructure protection. Remote control technology enables utilities to mitigate the risks of frequent shutoffs, reduce labor-intensive field visits, and detect leaks in vacant properties.
DRINKING WATER CASE STUDIES AND WHITE PAPERS
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![Connectionspd03.jpg]( "Thrust Restraint Design Of Vertical Offsets And Tees")
Thrust Restraint Design Of Vertical Offsets And TeesThere are numerous fitting combinations and configurations that are used in the everyday construction of pressurized water lines. This report describes vertical offsets, tees, and using joint restraint products to simplify their installation. The use of joint restraint products virtually eliminates thrust blocks and tie rods.
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![Narwhal_Aluminum_flyer-(1)-1]( "Automating Time-Consuming Water Quality Tests")
Automating Time-Consuming Water Quality TestsDiscover established and regulated methods to individually determine and mitigate copper, iron, silica, manganese, aluminum, calcium, and other analytes of interest in water.
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![IEU]( "Three Categories Of Sustainability")
Three Categories Of SustainabilityNearly 4.7 billion gallons of water were saved in 2013 alone through installation of Badger Meter water utility solutions.
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![Seeq_UseCases_Water-Treatment-Filter-Monitoring-1]( "Water Treatment Filter Monitoring")
Water Treatment Filter MonitoringA municipal water utility needed to improve sand filter consistency and boost performance of its overall fleet of filters in its water treatment plant. To do this, it needed to identify and monitor for poor filter performance while prioritizing filter maintenance.
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Case Study: Monitoring And Protecting Water Quality In Lake Mead, Nevada Lake Mead is one of several reservoirs along the Colorado River; however, due to increases in population and agricultural operations in recent decades, this once-expansive lake in the desert is becoming more compromised. While inflow into Lake Mead primarily is from the Colorado River, a small percent is also from rivers on the northern side of the Lake and from Las Vegas Wash on the northwest side. Las Vegas Wash transports treated municipal wastewater effluent, stormwater and urban runoff, and shallow groundwater seepage from the Las Vegas urban area to Boulder Basin in Lake Mead. Effluent flow rates have more than doubled in recent years, prompting concern over potential effects to reservoir water quality, especially since some of the water is pumped for the municipal water treatment plant at Saddle Island
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![GettyImages-1385066287_450_300]( "Ultrasonic Vs. Magnetic Meters: Which Works Best For Low-Flow Applications?")
Ultrasonic Vs. Magnetic Meters: Which Works Best For Low-Flow Applications?Both have their advantages, but the right fit will depend on the application. This makes it important to understand the pros and cons of each technology before making a purchase.
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![Success_Story-Bald_Head_Island_NC-5]( "Isolating A Leaking Pipe Helps Avoid Water Disruption To Entire Island")
Isolating A Leaking Pipe Helps Avoid Water Disruption To Entire IslandWanting to avoid an island-wide water system shutdown during peak season, the Village of Bald Head Island turned to the Insta-Valve 250 for help.
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![In the Field with EPA1]( "In The Field With EPA: Seagrass Sampling To Expand A Nutrient Pollution Indicator")
In The Field With EPA: Seagrass Sampling To Expand A Nutrient Pollution IndicatorNative 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.
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![RFSignal]( "Understand RF Propagation Of AMR/AMI Systems")
Understand RF Propagation Of AMR/AMI SystemsMost Automatic Meter Reading (AMR) systems installed in utilities use radio frequency (RF) communication. RF communication is also used for two-way radios, wireless supervisory control, data acquisition (SCADA) systems, office wireless networks, routers and cell phones.
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![Mag-Meters-and-Flow-Straighteners-blog-image-450x300]( "Electromagnetic Flow Meters, Flow Straighteners, And Vanes: Compatible Or Not?")
Electromagnetic Flow Meters, Flow Straighteners, And Vanes: Compatible Or Not?Those familiar with propeller flow meters are usually familiar with their common counterparts, flow straighteners and vanes. Implemented to reduce swirl in shorter straight-run applications, straighteners are a complementary instrument for agriculture, irrigation, and municipal flow measurement applications.
DRINKING WATER APPLICATION NOTES
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HOD™ (Hydro-Optic Disinfection) UV Water Treatment For Bottled Water3/27/2025
The HOD™ (Hydro-Optic Disinfection) UV water treatment system by Atlantium Technologies represents a groundbreaking advancement in drinking water disinfection, particularly for the bottled water industry.
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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.
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Removal Of PFCs With Activated Carbon12/30/2013
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).
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UV Technology Offers Solution For Emerging Water Crisis2/19/2014
Many are turning to UV as an effective barrier to enable the reuse of wastewater, for indirect reuse, and aquifer recharge.
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Veterinary Drug Residue Analysis Using The AutoMate-Q40: An Automated Solution To QuEChERS10/1/2014
QuEChERS is a Quick-Easy-Cheap-Effective-Rugged-Safe extraction method that has been developed for the determination of pesticide residues in agricultural commodities.
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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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LC-MS Analysis Of PFAS Compounds In EPA 533 After Supelclean™ ENVI-WAX SPE Cleanup8/29/2022
This application note demonstrates the extraction and subsequent analysis of 25 related analytes from water using Supelco SPE cartridges.
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The Process Of Deionizing Water10/29/2021
Years ago, high purity water was used only in limited applications. Today, deionized (Dl) water has become an essential ingredient in hundreds of applications including: medical, laboratory, pharmaceutical, cosmetics, electronics manufacturing, food processing, plating, countless industrial processes, and even the final rinse at the local car wash.
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Performance Test Services For UV Advanced Oxidation Systems12/1/2025
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.
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Cloth Media Filtration Removes Coal Ash And Coal Fines At Power Plants1/15/2019
Coal-fired power plants generate coal fines and coal ash from a number of sources, including coal combustion residuals (CCR), particularly fly and bottom ash from coal furnaces, and coal pile runoff during rain events. In support of an industry-wide effort to reduce, improve, and remove coal ash ponds, a variety of technologies have been tested and employed. Read the full application note to learn more.
DRINKING WATER PRODUCTS
The Aquana AVS AMI-Ready Valve is an IP68 rated remote disconnect ball valve designed to integrate with any existing AMI platform.
The Navigator 500 Hydrazine analyzer provides a continuous measurement of the level of hydrazine in boiler feedwater, enabling the chemical dose to be controlled automatically.
From the experts in chlorine management comes a multi-parameter water analysis system offering both chlorine measurement and control in one versatile instrument. Tailor the modular MicroChem®3 to your individual application with up to three measurement parameters. Designed with extensive customer input, the easy and innovative system includes an intuitive touchscreen display, menu-driven software to easily guide users through set-up and operation, and a USB interface for software updates and data log downloads.
WRT's Z-92® process is the most effective and environmentally responsible choice you can make for removing uranium from drinking water and the community. That's because after removing the uranium, we dispose of it at a licensed facility
Many owners and installers prefer the strength and simplicity of HDSS Pipe and Fittings. The joint is integrally restrained which gives it four advantages:
The ModMAG® M5000 Electromagnetic flow meter is an ideal solution for remote potable water applications, providing consistently reliable and accurate measurements. It is conveniently powered by a battery and built for field verification testing.
LATEST INSIGHTS ON DRINKING WATER
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![businesswoman asking question in education event-GettyImages-2198836359]( "AMI Under The Microscope: Beaverton Water Division Answers Questions About Its AMI Transition")
Beaverton Water Division’s transition to Kamstrup AMI and acoustic leak detection is modernizing meter reading, reducing infrastructure costs, improving leak identification, and streamlining operations as deployment progresses.
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![Texas Flag-GettyImages-942623440]( "Meeting Demand, Ensuring Compliance: A Success Story In Executing Fast-Paced Water System Improvements In Missouri City, Texas")
Learn how the Mustang Bayou Service Area (MBSA) Water System Improvements project delivered a fast-tracked, multi-phase response to rapid development and critical capacity challenges in one of the Missouri City’s fastest-growing regions.
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![Legionella pneumophila-GettyImages-1451790531]( "Legionella And The Need For Next-Generation Detection: Steps Water Utilities Can Take To Alleviate The Risk")
As water systems grow more complex and climate patterns shift, Legionella is emerging as one of the most persistent and underestimated risks in the built environment. The threat to public health from Legionnaires' disease will likely further escalate unless decisive action is taken. -
![maasjackson]( "Metering as a Service Improves Jackson, MS, Water Infrastructure")
The city of Jackson faced a water crisis that went beyond the tap. What began as an ambitious plan to modernize its water metering infrastructure in 2014 became a logistical and financial nightmare, costing the city millions in lost revenue and declining public trust. Metering as a Service (MaaS) offered the city an alternative option. -
![leadpipeInground_Getty-2211014580]( "The Final Mile: The U.S. Simply Must Rush To Finish Its Critical Lead-Pipe Cleanup")
There has been an abundance of funding available to address the estimated 9.2 million lead service lines currently deliver drinking water to homes, businesses, schools, and unsuspecting citizens throughout the United States. So it is disheartening to realize that millions of lead water lines are still delivering water to citizens. -
![Digital communication-GettyImages-2042965298]( "Beaverton's New AMI Solution Checks Every Box: Operations, Billing, Service, And Savings")
This Q&A follows the Webinar: Beaverton's New AMI Solution Checks Every Box: Operations, Billing, Service, & Savings hosted by Water Online on October 21, 2025. The webinar featured the leadership team from Beaverton Water Division as they discussed lessons learned across operations, billing, and customer service, offering a 360-degree perspective on implementing and managing an AMI system.
DRINKING WATER VIDEOS
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).
RIP Kitty Hach-Darrow (October 20, 1922 - June 4, 2020), co-founder of Hach Company
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.