WATER INDUSTRY FEATURES, INSIGHTS, AND ANALYSIS
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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.
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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.
VIEWS ON THE LATEST REGS
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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.
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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.
MORE WATER INDUSTRY FEATURES
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Nanobubble physics enable higher ozone stability and mass transfer efficiency in water. Discover how the negative surface charge of these microstructures improves localized oxidation and penetration into difficult matrices.
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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.
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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.
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Health Canada is tightening foreign action reporting expectations. MAHs need to understand what the updated draft guidance means for their compliance and monitoring processes now.
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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.
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Aseptic processing sterilizes products and packaging separately, then combines them in a sterile environment. See how this method ensures safety, extends shelf life, and protects medicines from contamination.
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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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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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NMR reveals far more than structure, offering insights into purity and molecular behavior. Advanced analysis unlocks deeper value from data to better understand mixtures and 3D structures.
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Struggling with reproducible cell culture results? Sera variability is a major culprit. Learn how to choose the right sera, test lots, and stock up to ensure consistency and boost reproducibility.
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Discover how ion exchange technology effectively removes radioactive uranium isotopes from municipal wastewater. This case study explores the transition from pilot studies to full-scale remediation, highlighting the importance of technical support in meeting stringent local water quality standards.
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For water treatment professionals prioritizing precision and efficiency, hollow-fiber microfiltration membranes are revolutionizing the way industries and municipalities treat water.
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Discover a robust, evaporation-free method for analyzing liraglutide in human plasma using LC-MS/MS to ensure high sensitivity, reproducibility, and improved analyte recovery.
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Accurate dechlorination control requires monitoring all residual oxidants that threaten membrane integrity. Total chlorine analysis provides the necessary precision at ultra-low levels, ensuring comprehensive protection against oxidative damage while maintaining reagent stability during intermittent system operations.
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This guide delves into the history, widespread applications, and evolving strategies to understand and mitigate the impacts of PFAS on health and ecosystems.
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Optimizing pDNA production in E. coli requires strategic media selection and scale-up planning. Explore a study that identifies ideal conditions for high-yield manufacturing.
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Routine sensor maintenance silently drains utility workforce capacity through constant recalibration, reagent refills, and travel time. Transitioning to low-maintenance monitoring technology reclaims thousands of operator hours, allowing short-handed crews to focus on vital system infrastructure priorities.
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In this article, we outline the sources, occurrence, known health issues, and mitigation options for specific contaminants.