DRINKING WATER
Case Study: Groundwater DWTP (AK) - DEXSORB Full-Scale
A DWTP client in Alaska detected elevated PFAS contamination levels in two groundwater wells supplying drinking water to 85 service connections. PFAS concentrations are provided in Table 1, where combined concentration of EPA PFAS6 was detected at 490 to 810 ppt.
DRINKING WATER CASE STUDIES AND WHITE PAPERS
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![IMG_1557]( "Innovative Communication Tool Enables Robust And Contact-Free Control Capabilities")
Innovative Communication Tool Enables Robust And Contact-Free Control CapabilitiesTwo-way wireless communication can provide a wealth of benefits for municipal water utilities, including command and control abilities that underpin a wider smart city infrastructure. However, most tools currently on the market do not provide the flexibility and uncompromising speed that are necessary to enable these capabilities. The newly released Mueller® Mi.Net® LoRaWAN® (LW) node, by comparison, allows two-way data communication to take place within seconds instead of hours.
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![KROHNE_image (002)]( "Evolution Of Pipeline Leak Detection")
Evolution Of Pipeline Leak DetectionAs the sheer number of pipelines crisscrossing the country continues to increase, there is an urgent need to ensure pipeline infrastructure safety. The age of many of the pipelines and the number of different products flowing makes this a challenging prospect. Now, new technology has been developed that meets the need for reliable protection that complies with regulatory requirements while eliminating false alarms.
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![GettyImages-157529978 ski lodge]( "Designing For Peaks And Valleys In Seasonal Communities With MBR Technology")
Designing For Peaks And Valleys In Seasonal Communities With MBR TechnologyWastewater flows in seasonal resorts are highly volatile. Learn how to stabilize biological treatment against sudden peak demands and low-flow off-seasons, ensuring continuous compliance and securing a high-quality water source for reuse.
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![American]( "Innovative And Dependable Protection For Your Pipeline Assets In The Most Demanding Environments")
Innovative And Dependable Protection For Your Pipeline Assets In The Most Demanding EnvironmentsThe Ductile Iron Pipe Research Association and the Corrpro corrosion consulting firm conducted a joint study of zinc coated and V-Bio enhanced polyethylene encased ductile iron pipe buried in the Everglades. I presented the results at NACE’s Eastern Area Conference in Jacksonville, Florida in October of 2019, and a separate report will be part of the NACE 2020 conference digital proceedings later this summer.
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![cs_airelangor]( "Advanced Analytics Solutions Used To Implement State-Wide Monitoring Program To Improve Asset Reliability And Resiliency")
Advanced Analytics Solutions Used To Implement State-Wide Monitoring Program To Improve Asset Reliability And ResiliencyAir Selangor is a large water distribution company owned by the Malaysian state of Selangor. The public utility serves a population of 84 million residents and manages over 6200 kilometers of trunk mains, ranging from 300mm up to 2200mm, with much of the pipelines located in remote areas of the state.
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![Ovarro_Enigma3HYQ_Anglian_Water_Leakage_Management_2]( "Leakage Management: Meeting The Challenge")
Leakage Management: Meeting The ChallengeAnglian Water has reduced leakage by 20% since 2010 and has committed to a further 23% reduction by 2025. Overwhelmingly, customers have told Anglian Water that leakage is a high priority and that they want to see it reduced to well below the Economic Level of Leakage (ELL).
The aim was to develop, own and utilize a system that enables cost-effective, smart, real-time leakage monitoring at an individual asset level for Anglian Water's entire network. The team was faced with a multitude of challenging conditions; the sites consisted of a large range of materials, including but not limited to Cast Iron, Ductile Iron, Asbestos Cement, MDPE, and PVC.
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![Case Study Report For Z-88® Radium Removal – Village Of Oswego, IL]( "Case Study Report For Z-88® Radium Removal – Village Of Oswego, IL")
Case Study Report For Z-88® Radium Removal – Village Of Oswego, ILThe Village of Oswego, IL selected WRT’s Z-88® Radium Removal treatment system to remove high concentrations of radium in their public drinking water. Eight city wells are currently being treated by Z-88® Radium Removal treatment systems. All eight treatment facilities are now producing safer drinking water since the first installations in 2005.
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![water-authority-dickson-county-case-study-inc-cs-02925-en-1]( "Water Authority Deploys More Efficient Solution For Now And The Future")
Water Authority Deploys More Efficient Solution For Now And The FutureFollowing the Reduction of Lead in Drinking Water Act announced by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in 2013, Water Authority of Dickson County decided to look beyond its current metering manufacturing company and evaluate other solutions in the market. Leaders from WADC began conversations with their counterparts across Tennessee to find new, longer-lasting and more accurate meters, as well as a solution that would help WADC more strategically detect leaks and efficiently manage its time.
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![APV-and-controller]( "Halifax Water Uses Advanced Pressure Management To Reduce Leakages")
Halifax Water Uses Advanced Pressure Management To Reduce LeakagesHalifax Water (HW) partnered with Mueller for a performance trial of advanced pressure management and the Sentryx™ Water Intelligence Platform.
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Upgrading From Gas Chlorine To On-Site Hypochlorite Generation To Improve Safety And System Resilience
By replacing gas chlorine with on-site hypochlorite generation, Nashville was able to improve the safety and longevity of its water plants to accommodate the growth of the “Heart of Country Music” far into the future. At a recent water conference, Glen Doss, Treatment Plant Manager stated, “In 2016, the last gas chlorine railcar left to large applause.”
DRINKING WATER APPLICATION NOTES
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How Activated Carbon Works To Purify Air And Water10/31/2019
The first step is to define the performance limiting factors in the application. For this application, most of the adsorber is used for MTBE adsorption in the ppb concentration range. Adsorption of BTEX, TBA, or humic acids or other total organic carbon (TOC) components are removed by the front end of the column.
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Pile Cloth Media Filtration Removes 97% Of Microplastics From Wastewater12/6/2023
Learn about filtering microplastics from industrial wastewater prior to discharge, and how this is one way to effectively reduce the volume of this waste material from entering our surface water.
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The Active Control Program For Advanced UV Oxidation12/1/2025
This application note will explore how active control programs lower operational costs of compliant contaminant removal.
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Dosing Of Sodium Hypochlorite Solution For Drinking Water Disinfection9/22/2022
A water purveyor was in urgent need of a chemically resistant flow instrumentation with a long life of service that allowed reliable and long-term stable dosing of the sodium hypochlorite solution.
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Application Note: Ozone Measurement In Potable Water3/1/2010
Ozone is a powerful oxidizing agent that can be used to destroy the organic compounds that affect the taste and odor of potable water. Environmental concerns have led to increased use of ozone because, unlike chlorine, it does not form hazardous by-products.
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Determination Of Pesticide Residues In Tea4/10/2015
In 2012, Americans consumed well over 79 billion servings of tea, which is just over 3.60 billion gallons.
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Removal Of Chloramines With Activated Carbon12/30/2013
In order to reduce the formation of harmful disinfection byproducts in drinking water, alternative disinfectant use has become increasingly widespread. Monochloramine is a leading alternative disinfectant that offers advantages for municipal water. This tech brief details the removal of monochloramine using activated carbon.
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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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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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A New Way Of Designing With Reverse Osmosis Membranes7/23/2015
Process design in water treatment is historically confined to proprietary or user-defined spreadsheets on a unit operation basis, with users manually adding results from each unit process upstream into the next operation.
DRINKING WATER PRODUCTS
Endress+Hauser launched E-direct, an online store that allows customers to easily and securely order high quality measurement products at competitive prices.
ClorTec T systems easily control sodium hypochlorite production and provide a powerful disinfection method for any application. T systems meet requirements for 2 to 36 lb/day (0.9 to 16 kg/day) chlorine equivalent. Applications include potable water, wastewater, odor and corrosion control, cooling towers, oxidation and swimming pool disinfection.
Kamstrup has expanded on its already proven ultrasonic technology by including the ability for its newest meter, the flowIQ® 2200, to listen for leaks via acoustic leak detection – which makes it the first and only single solution with integrated acoustic leak detection available to the market.
Making results data public is key to your lead programs success. Easily download reports to share with state and district stakeholders.
BW DIGI-METER® Digital Paddlewheel Flow Meters are easy to install and operate, resulting in a very low overall cost of ownership. For accuracy, features, and ease of use, choose BW DIGI-METER.
The Aqueous Electrostatic Concentrator's (AEC) modular design provides a small footprint and low energy consumption, and it can be skidded, trailer-mounted, or custom configured to fit into existing spaces.
LATEST INSIGHTS ON DRINKING WATER
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![snowystream-Getty-521971897]( "Winter's Alarmingly Low Snowpack Offers A Glimpse Of The Changing Rhythm Of Water In The Western U.S.")
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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![ColoradoRiverDam_Getty-1280300802]( "Why Colorado River Negotiations Stalled, And How They Could Resume With The Possibility Of Agreement")
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. -
![Water droplets, PFAS, Forever chemical water contamination-GettyImages-2173433890]( "Designing Resilient PFAS Treatment Strategies For Water Agencies")
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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![Oil spill clean up-GettyImages-1369921282]( "The Future Of In Situ Chemical Oxidation For Targeted Solvent Destruction")
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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![GettyImages-1365695094 water in hands]( "How Generative Design Can Help UK Utilities Justify PR29 Investment Cases")
Generative design strengthens PR29 investment cases by enabling rigorous optioneering, accurate cost estimates, and clear outcome alignment, helping water companies meet rising regulatory expectations.
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![money, dollars down the drain-GettyImages-157193934]( "Critical Infrastructure Fails The Way It's Funded")
Our infrastructure systems have operated in managed deterioration for decades. And not surprisingly, once they deteriorate badly enough and cross over into active failure, all cost discipline disappears.
DRINKING WATER VIDEOS
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.