Latest news, insights, and discussion on US and global drinking water regulations.

WATER INDUSTRY FEATURES, INSIGHTS, AND ANALYSIS

SRP-Funded Technology Provides Affordable PFAS Testing For Homeowners
Widespread chemical contamination leaves many small water systems without viable testing options.Discover how an innovative, plant-based extraction method delivers affordable, highly accurate screening to identify complex contaminants and protect public health.
The Enzyme Bottleneck: Why Conventional Lake Management Is Failing — And What The Science Says About Genuine Bio-Dredging For decades, the dominant framework for assessing and managing lake health has been built around surface water measurements: chlorophyll-a, total phosphorus, water clarity, and the composite Trophic State Index derived from them. These metrics are familiar, standardized, and widely accepted. They are also, according to a growing body of peer-reviewed literature, measuring the wrong part of the lake.
Ozone Off-Gas: What It Reveals About System Efficiency, Safety, and Design
Learn how ozone off-gas impacts system efficiency, safety, and performance, and why monitoring and management are critical for optimized water treatment operations.
UK Reservoirs, Water Shortages, And Legionella Risks Is there a clear link between a less plentiful water supply and an increase in Legionella in our domestic water systems?
The Devastating Legacy Of Algaecides: Why The Quick Fix Is Failing Our Lakes As warmer months approach, water management professionals must confront the compounding consequences of biocidal algae treatments.
What Is The Future Of Source Water Protection? Water utility managers and municipal leaders have long struggled amid the convergence of several threats to public water supplies. During a recent Water Online Live event, I sat with a panel of industry experts to examine the transition from reactive crisis management to a proactive, adaptive resilience framework.
Drinking Water Contaminated With 'Forever Chemicals' During Pregnancy Linked To An Increased Risk Of Childhood Asthma
While most of us are routinely exposed to low levels of PFAS, some communities are exposed to far higher levels from nearby pollution sources. A new study shows that in one of these at-risk communities, children were more likely to develop asthma if their mothers were exposed to very high PFAS levels during pregnancy.
The Pragmatic Shift In Source Water Protection: Moving From Symptom Management To Root-Cause Accountability A shift in how we approach source water protection is long overdue. Currently, we are trapped in a cycle of escalating costs, forced to treat symptoms like algae and invasive weeds expediently with chemicals while the underlying risk in the reservoir compounds. True risk management requires breaking this cycle.
The AWWA Said $2.4 Trillion. It Missed The Compound Interest. Einstein once said of compound interest, "He who understands it, earns it. He who doesn't, pays it." The same logic of compounding applies to the organic sediment accumulating on the floor of your drinking water reservoir. The longer you wait to address it, the more exponentially expensive it becomes to fix.
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?

DRINKING WATER PRODUCTS

Veolia Water Technologies is a full service water management company dedicated to developing customer-specific solutions that reduce water consumption, effectively manage and treat wastewater, minimize water discharge and ensure environmental compliance.

BioBarrier® Membrane BioReactor (MBR) & HSMBR

Bio-Microbics introduces a new generation of wastewater treatment solutions, the BioBarrier® HSMBR® (High Strength Membrane Bioreactor), to help meet the increasingly stringent needs of specialized applications. The membranes and processes used in this advanced system act as an impenetrable physical barrier for nearly all common pollutants found in wastewater today. The advanced technology offers the highest quality effluent possible on the market. The BioBarrier® MBR was the first system to be approved for water reuse (NSF/ANSI Std 350, class R) by the NSF (National Sanitation Foundation) International.

ReFlex™ Reverse Osmosis

Desalitech's ReFlex Reverse Osmosis systems represent a new era of water treatment efficiency. With patented CCD technology, ReFlex systems guarantee maximum water savings and waste water reduction. Desalitech systems are making the best use of water resources, offering a recovery rate of up to 98 percent plus unmatched reliability and flexibility. ReFlex Reverse Osmosis typically reduces disposal costs by 50 percent to 75 percent and energy consumption by up to 35 percent.

Reducing And Reusing Water In Steel Manufacturing

The art of manufacturing steel for industries is well over 100 years old. Within this time, the steel business has fulfilled consumer needs, including construction, transportation, and manufacturing. The steel manufacturing process is quite intensive as it requires a lot of water to cool down the application. Steel plants constantly look for strategies that can help sustain the steel for a longer time by efficiently improving water and energy consumption.

Water Reuse: Solutions For Sustainability, Efficiency, And Resilient Water Systems

What is water reuse?

Water reuse is the process of treating and reclaiming water from various sources for practical purposes, including groundwater recharge, industrial applications, wetland restoration, agricultural irrigation, public access area uses, as well as drinking water applications. By reusing water, communities can reduce dependence on traditional water supplies, avoid costly imported water from 3rd party providers, and improve resilience in water systems. Thanks to progress in water treatment technology, along with economic and regulatory incentives, water recycling has become a cost-effective and sustainable solution to meet the growing demand for highly treated water and overcome supply shortages during droughts.

There are three primary types of water reuse: Indirect Potable Reuse (IPR), Direct Potable Reuse (DPR), and Non-Potable. In IPR reuse systems, advanced treated water is either injected into an environmental buffer (groundwater, river, or reservoir) before being extracted again for use, whereas DPR is directly blended into the drinking water treatment plant or distribution system. Non-potable water is not intended for human consumption and can be used for irrigation, industrial processes, laundry, or toilet flushing.

Advanced treatment technologies, such as membrane filtration, reverse osmosis, ultraviolet disinfection, ozonation, and advanced oxidation processes (AOP), play a crucial role in ensuring the quality and safety of reclaimed water.

Why reuse water?

As water scarcity continues to rise, water reuse is an essential strategy for creating a more sustainable future. The use of recycled water reduces the demand for freshwater sources, which are becoming increasingly scarce due to population growth, climate change, and other factors.

Here are some key benefits of water reuse:

Safeguard quality and resilience: Reused water is purified well beyond drinking water standards, improving resilience and ensuring quality for both potable and even non-potable purposes.
Uphold safety: Treatment processes like ozone and ultraviolet light can be used to disinfect or break down complex contaminants, ensuring water is pathogen-free and concentrations are below maximum contaminant levels (MCL).
Ensure cost savings and efficiency: After treating a waste stream to discharge level, it may require less treatment to bring it to reuse standards, making reuse not only environmentally responsible but also cost-effective in many scenarios and locations.
Conserve traditional water supplies: By reusing water, we can lessen our reliance on conventional water resources like rivers, lakes, and aquifers, thereby conserving them for future generations.
Reduce carbon footprint: Water reclamation is often more efficient than treating a raw water resource, which can lessen environmental impact.
Enable versatility and customization: Advanced treatment systems are tailored to meet specific needs for a variety of sectors, including industrial, urban, agricultural, and public access area uses.

How to reuse water

The major aim of every reuse project is to minimize human health risk associated with the use or consumption of reclaimed water. While the exact treatment requirements depend upon the source water quality and the reuse purpose, to be cost-effective, the treatment must be energy efficient and have a high-water yield.

An adequate treatment design plan depends on the application the water will be used in. In non-potable applications, normally filtration and disinfection will suffice, while potable reuse generally requires a combination of advanced treatment processes such as membrane filtration, reverse osmosis, disinfection, and/or advanced oxidation.

Xylem has brands and solutions to fit every stage of the water reuse process:

beginning with the transport of raw sewage and wastewater with Xylem brands like Flygt
to secondary treatment to remove most dissolved and suspended organic matter and nutrients with brands like Sanitaire and Envirex
to tertiary stages that remove residual particulate matter, nutrients, TDS, and nematode eggs with brands like Leopold and Davco
along with disinfection and advanced oxidation that inactivates pathogens, and breaks down trace constituents and emerging contaminants of concern with brands like Wedeco, ETS-UV, ATG UV Systems, Pacific Ozone, and Wallace & Tiernan
and finally, digital solutions like YSI, OI Analytical, Xylem Vue that leverage remote monitoring, alerts, and data analytics for proactive and predictive maintenance

Based on practical knowledge from decades of combined brand experience, thousands of installations worldwide, and strengths in powerful R&D innovation, our team looks at the entire wastewater process at your plant. We will work with your consulting engineer and State regulators to integrate the right technologies to meet your intended targets. Modular design makes it easy to fit your requirements now and easily expand to meet your future needs.

Water reuse partnership

Though Xylem has teams of specialists, years of expertise, deep understanding of water regulations, and a broad solutions portfolio, we understand the complexities of water systems and the potential to partner with various water treatment experts. Xylem has partnered with hundreds of different firms around the globe to ensure the most efficient and viable water systems for communities and municipalities.

Our goal is to thoroughly understand each project, determine the best methods, and customize optimal solutions that meet local regulations and requirements while delivering resiliency, quality, and cost savings.

Let us be your partner in making every drop count. Contact us today to discuss your project needs.

Integrated Solutions and Projects

Veolia Water Technologies provides innovative solutions and technologies, technical expertise and project management services for water and wastewater treatment systems. Our work scopes range from treatment evaluations to full-scale system design and turnkey installation. Our integrated solutions are offered through a variety of flexible project delivery options including Engineer and Procure (EP), Design Build (DB), and Design Build Operate contracts.

VIEWS ON THE LATEST REGS

PFAS regulatory requirement-GettyImages-2220893562

EPA Seeks Court‑Ordered Removal Of 4 PFAS Limits

Putting The National Toxicology Program's Fluoride Review In Context

Despite renewed public concern over fluoride and cognition, the National Toxicology Program’s findings focus on high‑fluoride groundwater conditions — not the controlled levels used in U.S. drinking water systems. Understanding that distinction is critical for utilities navigating policy questions and community expectations.
HAAs In The EU: Monitoring For Haloacetic Acids Under The Drinking Water Directive

In this Q&A, Dr. Elke Süss of Metrohm addresses the urgent need for haloacetic acid testing in response to “one of the most significant updates to EU drinking water monitoring in recent years.”
PFAS Unpacked: Experts Answer Questions On EPA Rules, Funding, Treatment, And More

With the U.S. EPA's PFAS rules now in place, utilities are finding themselves with a growing number of questions regarding how to treat these chemicals, the potential costs, and much more. For answers, Water Online's chief editor, Kevin Westerling, hosted an Ask Me Anything session featuring Ken Sansone, Senior Partner at SL Environmental Law Group; Kyle Thompson, National PFAS Lead at Carollo Engineers; and Lauren Weinrich, Principal Scientist at American Water.
Monitoring Know-How For PFAS Regulations

A Q&A to explain and resolve issues confronting water suppliers as they endeavor to comply with the monitoring requirements of federal PFAS regulations.
Clearing LCRI Hurdles

Assessing what lies ahead in the 10-year race to go lead-free, otherwise known as the Lead and Copper Rule Improvements (LCRI).

MORE WATER INDUSTRY FEATURES

New Monochloramine Sensor Technology Measures Free Chlorine And Total Chlorine On The Same Sensor

Traditional chloramine monitoring methods have drawbacks that complicate water treatment. A new sensor can measure multiple parameters, offering operators better process control.
The Cost Of Not Using Ozone, A Lifecycle ROI Analysis For Water Treatment Systems

Focusing on lifecycle ROI reveals ozone's value. It significantly reduces chemical and operational costs while extending filter media life, providing measurable long-term financial savings and compliance resilience.
Taking The Lead On Ditching Lead

AWWA C800, Underground Service Line Valves and Fittings, was built around the use of one brass alloy, C83600, also known as leaded red brass, favored for its manufacturability and low cost. Over the last two decades, the waterworks industry has transitioned to brass alloys that meet the definition of lead-free for most surfaces contacting potable water.
Selecting A Platform Filter For High Concentration mAbs

Read more about how Fujifilm Diosynth Biotechnologies evaluated a prime filter with challenging simulant solutions and how the experimental data confirmed superior performance, which demonstrated twice the throughput.
AgentV's Virtues At The Vanguard Of Extracellular Vesicles

Learn about a novel solution dramatically improving the purification and yield of promising nanoscale vesicles for medical applications.
Improving API Solubility With Mesoporous Silica

Poor solubility of active pharmaceutical ingredients can hinder drug effectiveness. Learn how innovative formulation strategies enhance solubility and bioavailability to improve therapeutic outcomes for challenging drug candidates.
Development Of A High Sensitivity SPE-LC-MS/MS Assay

Achieve ultra-sensitive glucagon quantification with ionKey/MS, μElution SPE, and advanced MS fragmentation to deliver low LOD, reduced sample loss, and enhanced confidence in results.
Unlock The Power Of Sustainable And Efficient Measurement Instrumentations

Explore how manufacturers can turn sustainability challenges into strategic advantages through smarter energy use, regulatory insight, and emerging innovations.
Optimizing Ozone Systems For Bromate Control And Water Quality Enhancement In High-Bromide Groundwater Treatment

Learn how utilities can control bromate formation, optimize ozone treatment performance, and achieve regulatory compliance through improved monitoring, hydraulics, and system design.
Colorado Utility Removes PFCS From Well With Xylem's Ion Exchange System

Perfluoro compounds (PFCs), which are suspected carcinogens, are a growing concern for communities and a challenge that many water utilities need to address. When the Stratmoor Hills Water District detected PFCs in a seasonal well, the utility partnered with Evoqua, a Xylem company, to find a cost-effective solution.
Advanced Wastewater Treatment Solutions For Industry And Municipalities

This resource will help you navigate the complexities of industrial and municipal wastewater treatment, understand the latest technology, and see how Aria Filtra® technology addresses the needs of modern wastewater management.
The Site's Guide To Recovering Clinical Technology Costs From Sponsors

Gain sponsor approval by positioning technology as key to streamlined workflows, compliance, and patient safety — reducing risk and improving collaboration. Explore strategies now.
From Depths To New Heights: Revolutionizing Wastewater Pumping With Above-Ground Technology

Read this article for an overview of key advantages, as well as examples of how communities have achieved cost savings by moving towards above-ground systems.
Beyond Meter Reads: Leveraging Temetra For Enhanced Customer Engagement And Conservation

Las Vegas Valley Water District is modernizing conservation efforts with Temetra, using high-resolution meter data to detect leaks sooner, engage customers, and secure water resources amid extreme drought conditions.

Microfiltration Membranes Lead The Way In Water Filtration

For water treatment professionals prioritizing precision and efficiency, hollow-fiber microfiltration membranes are revolutionizing the way industries and municipalities treat water.
From Syringes To Wearables: Formulation's Impact

High‑concentration biologic formulations for prefilled syringes and on‑body devices enable easier self‑administration, reduce treatment burden, boost adherence, and address complex formulation challenges.
A Strategic Overview Of Fc Engineering

Explore how Fc engineering transforms antibodies into precise therapeutic tools by modulating immune effector functions and extending half-life to improve patient outcomes and overcome complex clinical challenges.
Scope 3 Emissions: A Shared Challenge, A Collective Responsibility

Despite growing sustainability efforts, our industry lags in climate goals, especially Scope 3 emissions. Discover why bold action and deep collaboration across the value chain are essential for real progress.

WATER INDUSTRY FEATURES, INSIGHTS, AND ANALYSIS

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