WATER INDUSTRY FEATURES, INSIGHTS, AND ANALYSIS
-
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.
-
How Donner Summit PUD Cut Backwash Water Use By 45% With Ultrasonic Algae Control
Recurring algal blooms severely compromise water treatment efficiency, clogging filters and wasting finished water through frequent backwashing. Targeted ultrasonic suppression controls raw water algae growth at the source, significantly improving influent turbidity and lowering operational costs.
-
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.
VIEWS ON THE LATEST REGS
-
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.
-
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.”
-
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.
-
A Q&A to explain and resolve issues confronting water suppliers as they endeavor to comply with the monitoring requirements of federal PFAS regulations.
-
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
-
With the LCRR deadline fast approaching and over 59% of its service lines unverified, Martin County recognized the significant work ahead in preparing to meet the LCRR requirements. The county needed to establish a clear strategy for its compliance program, and to support this effort, it needed an engineering consulting partner with extensive expertise in LCRR.
-
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.
-
UV AOP performance verification requires a robust test matrix covering design, operating, and control conditions. This process includes on-site execution, sample analysis, and troubleshooting to achieve successful regulatory approval.
-
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.
-
Chlorine sensor waste streams cause massive water loss and costs. The Halogen MP-5 sensor eliminates waste, reduces maintenance, and improves efficiency—offering a breakthrough in sustainable water monitoring.
-
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.
-
Developed from U.S. Office of Naval Research requirements, this multiparameter chlorine sensor offers extended maintenance-free operation, flow-independence, and automatic compensation for reliable, in-pipe monitoring.
-
Microbial testing of environmental water demands efficient, contamination‑resistant workflows. Discover a membrane filtration technique that offers rapid, reliable colony isolation.
-
Engineers and project managers must take a complete cradle-to-grave approach when considering which technologies to implement as well as which vendors to partner with for their PFAS solution.
-
Evaluating industrial discharge data manually consumes valuable staff time and increases risk. Automated sampling ingestion flags limit violations instantly, streamlining enforcement, reducing administrative strain, and keeping municipal wastewater treatment infrastructure protected.
-
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.
-
Inaccurate residual readings force water treatment facilities to overdose expensive chemicals or risk regulatory non-compliance. Maintaining measurement accuracy across fluctuating water conditions eliminates costly safety margins and lowers daily chemical expenses.
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
Scalable lentiviral vector production is moving beyond adherent systems. Learn how streamlined workflows enable linear scale-up in stirred-tank bioreactors for cost-effective gene therapy manufacturing.
-
Explore a validated LC-MS/MS method for precise Semaglutide quantification in plasma, which features enhanced sensitivity, peak definition, and reproducibility using innovative technologies.
-
Balancing robust analytics and clinical readiness is key for early-phase pDNA and mRNA therapeutics amid structural complexity and regulatory challenges.