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

WATER INDUSTRY FEATURES, INSIGHTS, AND ANALYSIS

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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.

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Activated Carbon And Adsorption Of Trichloroethylene (TCE) And Tetrachloroethylene (PCE)

Trichloroethylene (TCE) and Tetrachloroethylene (PCE) are two of the most common solvents that contaminate groundwater supplies in the United States. Both solvents see frequent use in the extraction of fat, in the textile industry, in the production of various pharmaceutical and chemical products. TCE is also used as a degreaser from fabricated metal parts, and PCE serves as a component of aerosol dry-cleaning solvents.

Waste Technologies Transform Problems To Profit

Anaerobic digestion processes that radically improve the quality of wastewater while delivering green energy extracted from biological waste streams are emerging as a profitable way for agricultural and food processing industries cope with the twin impact of drought and pollution challenges.

PFAS HPLC Column

The new Ascentis® Express PFAS HPLC column, with its Fused-Core technology and a particle size of 2.7 μm, delivers fast and high-resolution separations with excellent selectivity, peak shape, and necessary retention to perform in EPA methods 537.1, 533 and 8327.

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.

Filtration: Heavy Suspended Solids Filtration - Electromedia® III

Electromedia III removes heavy suspended solids from water having up to 200 p.p.m. contaminants

Innovative Solutions To Drinking Water Decontamination In Small And Medium Treatment Plants

Air stripping technology effectively removes VOCs, THMs, and CO2 for improved adherence to water quality regulations.

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What Utilities Should Know About School Lead Data

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.
EPA Seeks Court‑Ordered Removal Of 4 PFAS Limits

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.
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.

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Data Centers, Water Reuse, And Ozone: Engineering Treatment Systems For The AI Infrastructure Boom

Explore how ozone-based treatment supports data center water reuse by controlling biofilm, organics, metals, and microbial risks while reducing freshwater demand.
To 10X & Beyond, AgentV™-DSP Arrives Ready To Rock

Filter fouling has limited exosome therapeutic scalability—until now. Explore how a breakthrough reagent achieves 50% particle recovery versus 5% traditionally, enabling affordable clinical manufacturing.
What Does Calibration Actually Mean For Your Water Quality Instrument?

Calibration is not one process. Its meaning shifts across colorimetric, electrochemical, and amperometric instruments, and applying the wrong expectation to the wrong one can cost time, compliance standing, and accuracy.
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.
Hot Springs Combats Aging Infrastructure Challenges With Xylem Digital Solutions

The City of Hot Springs, Arkansas knows the challenges of dealing with aging infrastructure well. The city’s 143-year-old system covers 923 miles of water mains in rocky terrain, making it difficult to detect leaks. That is why the utility’s water department decided to act.
Smarter Cell Washing And Pre-Formulation For Allogeneic Therapies

Discover common pitfalls in cell washing and pre-formulation, including incomplete contaminant removal, manual handling, and throughput issues that compromise product quality and efficiency.
Why Has Ion Exchange Become The PFAS Treatment Of Choice?

Regulated PFAS limits necessitate efficient, long-term treatment strategies. Ion exchange technology offers a high-capacity, small-footprint solution that outperforms traditional media. Learn how selective resins provide a cost-effective path to compliance and simplified utility operations.
Bayesian Study Designs In Early-Phase Oncology Trials

In response to insufficient traditional dose-escalation methods, regulatory initiatives like the FDA’s Project Optimus advocate for identifying optimal biological doses rather than relying solely on maximum tolerated doses (MTD).
When Granular Activated Carbon Isn't Enough: Optimize Performance With A Multi-Barrier Approach

Learn why GAC alone may fall short in PFAS treatment — and how utilities can future-proof performance with multi-barrier strategies that tackle short-chain compounds, regulatory shifts, and rising operational risks.
A Year Of Reflection And Preparation

The Trial Master File (TMF) landscape in 2025 will require companies to stay attuned to the evolving ICH E6(R3) guidelines and the full implementation of the CTIS.
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.
City Of Mesa Leverages Hybrid-Cloud Architecture To Drive Operational Efficiency At Their Water Resources Department

Transitioning to a hybrid-cloud architecture allows municipal utilities to securely centralize operational data. This structure gives engineering teams and consultants safe, self-serve access to near real-time insights, streamlining regulatory reporting and optimizing chemical usage.
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.
Florida Utility Saves 2,080 Man-Hours With Just 5 Sensors

Continuous water quality monitoring helps utilities offset workforce shortages, reclaim thousands of labor hours, improve compliance, and gain real-time insights that enhance system performance and reliability.

Converging Challenges, Unified Solutions: How Three Overlapping Trends Are Shaping Public Water

With the right help, coping with workforce upheaval, the digital transition, and asset management can be an opportunity.
The Active Control Program For Advanced UV Oxidation

This application note will explore how active control programs lower operational costs of compliant contaminant removal.
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.

WATER INDUSTRY FEATURES, INSIGHTS, AND ANALYSIS

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