WATER INDUSTRY FEATURES, INSIGHTS, AND ANALYSIS
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Tackling Lake Erie's Algal Blooms Requires Targeted Conservation Strategies
Algal blooms in Lake Erie remind us how closely food production and clean water are connected. Many of these nutrients come from nearby farms, and the challenge is keeping them out of waterways.
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After The Fire: What The 2026 Wildfires And El Niño Could Mean For U.S. Lakes And Reservoirs In 2027
In July, smoke from Canadian wildfires spread across the upper Midwest and Northeast. Now a strengthening El Niño is set to influence the coming winter. Both events matter to lake and reservoir managers because their effects on water quality will continue to emerge long after the skies clear or the El Niño passes.
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Minneapolis Flexes Its Mussels For Source Water Monitoring Solution
Protecting municipal drinking water requires rapid visibility into changing surface source conditions. Discover how combining biological indicators with continuous inline spectrometry delivers real-time contamination alerts, preventing costly treatment plant shutdowns and safeguarding consumer health.
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DEXSORB® Treatment At Groundwater Pump Station
Discover how upgrading existing filter infrastructure with advanced adsorbent media provided over 600 days of continuous PFAS removal, treating millions of gallons of contaminated groundwater to achieve strict drinking water compliance.
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DEXSORB® Treatment Of Surface Water For Gravity System
Discover how a dual-vessel lead-lag media system achieved continuous non-detect levels for target legacy contaminants, treating over 250,000 gallons of surface water to support regulatory compliance and municipal drinking water goals.
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Pretreatment Systems Enable Complete And More Economical PFAS Solutions For operators looking to optimize their PFAS removal systems, controlling the presence of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) offers an approach to minimizing operational costs due to granular activated carbon (GAC) reactivation and ion exchange media change-out.
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What Utilities Don't Know About GAC Reuse For PFAS For utilities building PFAS treatment systems, thermal reactivation of spent granular activated carbon (GAC) may sound like the obvious answer. However, service provider availability and location, specific media acceptance criteria including quantity thresholds, restrictions on GAC type and condition, and regulatory uncertainty can all determine whether reuse is a viable option.
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PFAS Funding Is Flowing — But Does The Water Sector Have Enough People To Deliver It? For several years, the PFAS conversation has centered on treatment options, testing, and funding. Those factors still matter, but they are no longer the primary constraint. Most utilities already understand the treatment routes available to them; the real challenge now is moving from technical possibility to operational performance, and that depends entirely on people.
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The Cost Of Waiting: Utilities Face A Narrowing PFAS Compliance Window For years, the water industry's PFAS conversation centered on monitoring, testing, and regulatory anticipation. Today, that phase is largely over.
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D.C. Circuit Upholds EPA's Hazardous Substance Designation For PFOA, PFOS
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit recently rejected industry challenges to the EPA's designation of PFOA and PFOS as hazardous substances under CERCLA, leaving the agency's April 2024 rule fully intact. While the case centered on the EPA's authority to make the designation, its practical significance for water utilities is simpler: the liability concerns that have accompanied the rule since its adoption remain unresolved.
VIEWS ON THE LATEST REGS
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For years, the water industry's PFAS conversation centered on monitoring, testing, and regulatory anticipation. Today, that phase is largely over.
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The U.S. EPA is testing a new procedural strategy to remove four PFAS drinking‑water limits from ongoing litigation, asking the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals to invalidate those limits on the grounds that the EPA itself committed a procedural misstep when issuing the 2024 PFAS rule.
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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.
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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.”
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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.
MORE WATER INDUSTRY FEATURES
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The World Medical Association (WMA) has announced a significant, rare update to its cornerstone ethical document, the Declaration of Helsinki, which guides medical research involving human participants.
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Learn key ozone formulas, unit conversions, and measurement standards to accurately calculate generator output, concentration, and dosage for effective system design, performance verification, and safe operation.
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How one utility streamlined required notices instead of letting them pile up.
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Uneven ice formation during bottle freezing creates a "Volcano Effect," pushing solutes into highly concentrated zones. This test-based study explains this risk to drug substance quality.
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Calgon Carbon’s Dr. Angela Rodriguez shares insights on PFAS treatment, regulatory readiness, sustainability, and how innovative carbon technologies help utilities balance compliance, cost control, and environmental goals.
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Amid scrutiny of the financial conflicts of interest in biomedical research, new federal rules aim to improve transparency and preserve the integrity of publicly funded research.
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AAV vectors hold promise for gene therapy, but removing product-related impurities remains a challenge. Learn how cell line development and process optimization are advancing rAAV production.
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Discover how N-1 intensification shortens production timelines and improves cell viability by replacing traditional filtration with automated, low-shear separation techniques to achieve higher seeding densities.
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Drought conditions force utilities to seek new water sources, yet reducing non-revenue water offers an immediate supply boost. Eliminating sample waste and targeting line flushing recovers fully treated water without expensive capital projects.
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Navigate the complexities of pharmaceutical safety with a guide to tailored inspection systems. Match the right technology to your specific product format for total compliance and quality.
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Faced with rising water scarcity, advanced facilities are utilizing UV advanced oxidation to destroy persistent chemical micropollutants and achieve stringent pathogen disinfection in a single step, ensuring a highly pure, reliable potable water supply.
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Managing municipal backflow prevention programs requires tracking thousands of assemblies, test notices, and certifications. Replacing manual recordkeeping with automated digital tracking eliminates backlogs, ensuring timely enforcement and protecting public drinking water systems from contamination.
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High refolding yields aren’t enough. Learn how analytical characterization, structural equivalence testing, and optimized fermentation reduce scale-up risk and improve quality.
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Legacy oilfield contamination requires advanced strategies to protect vital groundwater. Explore the technical challenges of subsurface remediation and how advanced oxidation processes provide a more effective pathway for destroying persistent hydrocarbons and restoring aquifer quality.
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Nitrosamines are a serious risk in drug products, driven by the presence of secondary amines, conducive conditions, and nitrosating agents. Understanding these factors is key to risk mitigation and patient safety.
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Ozone is a vital pre-treatment for PFAS mitigation. It oxidizes precursors and co-contaminants, significantly extending the service life of downstream GAC and membrane systems.
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Calgon Carbon’s AquaKnight GC systems are designed from the top down to improve flow, adsorption, and media life.
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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.