DRINKING WATER
From Utility To Ally: Smart Water Management For Customer Satisfaction
Smart water technologies improve customer satisfaction through accurate billing, leak detection, and data-driven insights, helping utilities build trust, reduce losses, and enhance operational efficiency.
DRINKING WATER CASE STUDIES AND WHITE PAPERS
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![Bottles]( "How pH Standards Impact The Accuracy Of Water Quality Measurements")
How pH Standards Impact The Accuracy Of Water Quality MeasurementsWhen it comes to pH measurement in water and wastewater treatment, there are two focal points for the word ‘standard’ — one is a compliance-related state or federal water quality specification; the other is a specific fluid used as a calibration reference point to ensure pH instrumentation accuracy. Here is why both are important and how they affect the best pH measurement outcomes in both areas.
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![Figure - 3 phoenix]( "PermaSeal Insertion Valve Provides Operational Efficiency In Arizona")
PermaSeal Insertion Valve Provides Operational Efficiency In ArizonaTo limit customer shutdowns and reduce non-revenue water loss, the City of Phoenix agreed to be a part of the first live installation of the PermaSeal Insertion Valve and test the capabilities and benefits obtained from utilizing the resilient wedge gate valve design.
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![Enigma-hyQ---United-Utilities-PVC-Trunk-Main-Trial-7]( "United Utilities Trunk Main Trial")
United Utilities Trunk Main TrialUnited Utilities supplies water to 3 million homes and 200,000 businesses in North West England. Within the Winscales and Scilly Banks service reservoir zones where the trial was to take place, local United Utilities NCI / NIA had previously split the main and quantified losses of 4 liters/sec and 2 liters/sec in the respective halves. Leak detection on trunk mains using correlation techniques has always had potentially limited success for reasons of poor sound propagation and scarcity of accessible fittings. The business challenge was to exceed these limitations, improve efficiency and reduce leakage.
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![KLA]( "It's Not Too Late To Add These Five Water-Related Books To Your Summer Reading List")
It's Not Too Late To Add These Five Water-Related Books To Your Summer Reading ListSummer reading list a bit dry? Drink up these books on the world’s greatest resources — water.
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![GettyImages-598091682 piepline control main valve]( "Empowering Smarter Decisions With Pipeline Data")
Empowering Smarter Decisions With Pipeline DataThrough case studies and technical insights, this paper demonstrates how utilities can use inspection tools, valve assessments, structural modeling, and predictive analytics to make informed decisions.
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![gettyimages-1299103629-170667a]( "Top Cybersecurity Trends Driving Digital Transformation For Water Utilities")
Top Cybersecurity Trends Driving Digital Transformation For Water UtilitiesCybersecurity continues to grow as a critical initiative for water utilities, with certain trends helping to drive and even accelerate digital transformation.
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![UC_FLTRMEMBRANE_Filter-Membrane-Predictive-Maintenance_Use-Case_20201116-1]( "Filter Membrane Predictive Maintenance")
Filter Membrane Predictive MaintenanceAt manufacturing operations using ultrafiltration systems, the ultrafiltration membranes are used for numerous batches without replacement, using Clean-In-Place (CIP) operations in between batches to maintain filter performance. However, ineffective CIP cycles or long-term fouling or degradation of the filter membrane can result in increased cycle times to move the desired amount of product through the filter, lost yield as the product is unable to permeate the filter, or poor product quality as membrane failure may occur.
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![aurora__colorado_arwpf_case_study___ect-3]( "Treating Trace Contaminants In Drinking Water - Aurora, Colorado")
Treating Trace Contaminants In Drinking Water - Aurora, ColoradoTo protect residents from environmental contaminants, the City of Aurora set stringent water treatment goals, and adopted an advanced treatment process at the Aurora Reservoir Water Purification Facility.
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![Net_Zero_Leakage_iStock-1255413806]( "Finding A More Affordable Migration Path To Net Zero Leakage")
Finding A More Affordable Migration Path To Net Zero LeakageWhether decision-makers consider it ultimately attainable or not, there is something positive to be said about striving toward ‘net zero leakage’ in water distribution systems saddled with high non-revenue-water (NRW) losses. The key is taking affordable steps — like those described below — toward identifying and mitigating the most egregious water loss locations in a distribution system, based on readily accessible data.
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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.
DRINKING WATER APPLICATION NOTES
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Application Bulletin: Reverse Osmosis3/19/2008
Osmosis is the phenomenon of lower dissolved solids in water passing through a semi-permeable membrane into higher dissolved solids water until a near equilibrium is reached
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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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Solution For Algae Blooms12/17/2015
Harmsco® Filtration Products is pleased to offer a solution to the ever increasing blue-algae blooms in water sources. A multi-barrier approach is necessary to physically remove intact (algae and cyanobacteria) before they rupture in the treatment process and then remove extracellular cyanobacteria through adsorption.
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Background And Summary Of Tests For The 2000PV Restraint4/13/2021
The 2000PV is a restraint for PVC pipe and the standardized mechanical joint. This product is the result of years of testing and evaluation and its performance has been proven by thousands of hours of proof tests, as well as third-party evaluations. This report describes the 2000PV through the 12" size.
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Waterworks Joints 10110/30/2025
There are many different joints that can be found on waterworks pipeline components. This paper focuses on the three most common joints.
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Determination Of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons In Seafood4/20/2015
Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) are a large group of organic compounds found naturally in the environment. PAHs are monitored by the US Environmental Protection Agency due to their carcinogenic characteristics.
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Aries Arsenic Reduction1/7/2026
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.
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Determination Of Pesticide Residue In Vegetables9/10/2014
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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Take Control Of Your Water Distribution Network With Digitalization And Remote Monitoring5/19/2022
Any process plant constantly generates a high volume of status data. Today, this data can be extracted from the plant, stored, analyzed, and prepared to meet operator needs and lower marginal costs.
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Hydrogen Sulfide Removal From Water Using AquaSorb® CX-MCA2/19/2014
The “rotten egg” odor in some water supplies is caused by sulfide in water. Sulfide can be treated using oxidation techniques, the goal being to convert the sulfide to high oxidation state species such as sulfate to eliminate the taste and odor concerns. Traditional oxidation techniques such as ozone and chlorine can be used, but can be expensive due to the equipment required to add and monitor the oxidant, and can lead to by-products such as trihalomethanes (THMs), which are regulated in drinking water supplies.
DRINKING WATER PRODUCTS
Aqua-Aerobic® Membrane Systems featuring NO BREAK Aqua MultiBore® membranes are designed to effectively remove suspended solids, particulate phosphorus, bacteria, cysts and other harmful impurities, resulting in safe, high quality water
ADVANCE™ Series 200 gas feeders are designed for or automatic gas regulation. Automatic operation requires a simple addition of a motorized control valve.
There are over 4,500 compounds currently classified as PFAS compounds. BioLargo's PFAS treatment is customized to the water to reduce energy, breakthrough, waste products, and operation and maintenance costs.
The Ultrameter II is a prime example of how high-tech engineering can greatly simplify and streamline a task. Whether in the lab, industrial plant, or in a remote field location, there are only a few simple steps to take a reading.
Harmsco has developed a higher capacity filter housing that is BABA compliant, and it is available in a 3X, as well as a 5X model.
As the latest addition to Hydra-Stop’s award-winning Insta-Valve family of solutions, customers with 20- and 24-inch pipes can now benefit from the only insertable gate valve with the superior performance and reliability you would expect from the Insta-Valve name.
LATEST INSIGHTS ON DRINKING WATER
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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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![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. -
![Smart industry, worker safety technology-GettyImages-2218674119]( "Geotechnical IoT Shifts Water Infrastructure From Reactive To Predictive")
Currently, water infrastructure is outdated and fragile, prone to breakages and leaks. Reactive approaches to water infrastructure are only implemented after an incident and are more expensive than simple maintenance fixes. Geotechnical Internet of Things (IoT) devices enable water and wastewater industry professionals to identify and address issues before they escalate into catastrophic events. -
![Water Drop with brain-GettyImages-481129858]( "When Drinking Water Raises Bigger Questions About Brain Health And Environmental Risk")
A new study linking certain groundwater sources to higher Parkinson’s risk underscores a broader question for the water sector: how environmental exposures in drinking water may influence long-term health. -
![Water Treatment system for boiler station-GettyImages-914817776]( "Filtration Media For Municipal, Industrial, And Landscape Water Treatment: Legacy And Novel Technologies")
The growing demand for water across a variety of sectors combined with the increasingly understood complexity of emerging contaminants is creating a dynamic marketplace for filtration media. The goal of selecting the right filtration media is not to meet minimum standards but to achieve the right balance of performance, durability, and operational simplicity to ensure long-term compliance and cost-effective operation.
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![getty-1314144854-AI-water-robot-hand]( "Scaling Water Reuse: New State Regulatory Guides And What They Mean For Treatment Design")
Emerging state water reuse regulations are driving adoption of ozone and advanced oxidation, requiring flexible, high-performance systems to meet pathogen, trace organic, and DBP control objectives.
DRINKING WATER VIDEOS
More than 100 beers were on tap during the Xylem beer tasting event in New Orleans. While each beer had it’s own flavor, every beer was brewed with one special ingredient… reuse water. Watch the video to learn more.
RIP Kitty Hach-Darrow (October 20, 1922 - June 4, 2020), co-founder of Hach Company
Discover how integrated membrane system designs can maximize the operating stability of EDI systems and reduce mixed bed regeneration frequency.
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.