WATER INDUSTRY FEATURES, INSIGHTS, AND ANALYSIS
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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?
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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
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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.
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A Q&A to explain and resolve issues confronting water suppliers as they endeavor to comply with the monitoring requirements of federal PFAS regulations.
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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
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Antibody aggregation remains a critical downstream challenge, particularly for complex modalities. Explore why aggregates form, why they matter, and how chromatographic strategies can help reduce risk.
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Relying on assumptions when designing water treatment systems creates unnecessary financial and operational risks. Adopting predictive modeling and data-driven testing provides the precise, actionable insights required to optimize performance, manage costs, and ensure compliance.
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A CDMO guide to implementing EU Annex 1 for modern sterile fill/finish facilities, covering cleanroom design, contamination control, utilities, personnel, monitoring, and audit essentials.
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Advanced acoustic sensors help growing utilities identify hidden leaks and prevent costly pipe bursts. By shifting from reactive to planned repairs, municipalities can significantly reduce non-revenue water loss and recoup technology investments through operational savings.
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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.
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Learn about a novel solution dramatically improving the purification and yield of promising nanoscale vesicles for medical applications.
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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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Undetected interferences in water analysis lead to reporting errors and costly compliance failures. Learn how to identify sample matrix disruptions using spike-and-recovery testing and apply practical lab techniques to ensure accurate, compliant data.
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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.
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Microbial testing of environmental water demands efficient, contamination‑resistant workflows. Discover a membrane filtration technique that offers rapid, reliable colony isolation.
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Orlando Drum & Container eliminates hazardous 1,4 Dioxane from groundwater using Pinnacle Ozone Solutions’ Advanced Oxidation Process, restoring water quality sustainably and ensuring regulatory compliance.
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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.
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As water scarcity and energy costs rise, new ultrafiltration membrane technologies deliver higher flux, longer lifespan, and reduced fouling — turning water treatment from a compliance task into an efficiency opportunity.
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Explore a UPLC-UV method using Empower 3 Software to assess synthetic peptide purity. Learn how integrated tools streamline impurity tracking, data reporting, and compliance in peptide analysis workflows.
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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.
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Ozone and UV-AOP each offer powerful contaminant removal for drinking water, wastewater, and reuse applications. Their unique strengths—and potential synergy—help utilities meet diverse treatment goals efficiently.
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Explore how PFAS in medical devices pose environmental and health concerns, prompting regulatory scrutiny.
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Explore how ozone-based treatment supports data center water reuse by controlling biofilm, organics, metals, and microbial risks while reducing freshwater demand.