WATER INDUSTRY FEATURES, INSIGHTS, AND ANALYSIS
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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.
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The AWWA Said $2.4 Trillion. It Missed The Compound Interest. Einstein once said of compound interest, "He who understands it, earns it. He who doesn't, pays it." The same logic of compounding applies to the organic sediment accumulating on the floor of your drinking water reservoir. The longer you wait to address it, the more exponentially expensive it becomes to fix.
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Designing Resilient PFAS Treatment Strategies For Water Agencies Water agencies across the U.S. are facing a rapidly evolving regulatory landscape for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) that poses a conundrum: Should they take a cautious or aggressive approach to treating PFAS contamination in their water system?
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The Future Of In Situ Chemical Oxidation For Targeted Solvent Destruction
The U.S. EPA’s 2026 trichloroethylene (TCE) compliance deadlines are now forcing a concrete shift toward source-zone destruction. In situ chemical oxidation (ISCO), sequenced with enhanced bioremediation, is proving to be the most credible path to groundwater contaminant rebound mitigation.
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When Drinking Water Raises Bigger Questions About Brain Health And Environmental Risk A new study linking certain groundwater sources to higher Parkinson’s risk underscores a broader question for the water sector: how environmental exposures in drinking water may influence long-term health.
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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.
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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.
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Opinion: Why PFAS Policymakers Should Read Past The Abstract When it comes to drinking water, sound public policy requires sound scientific research. Publication in a prestigious, peer-reviewed journal helps establish legitimacy for scientific claims in public discourse. But science is a social process, scientific standards of evidence vary across disciplines, and peer review does not guarantee validity. For readers who stop at the abstract, these distinctions can be easy to miss.
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Planting The Seeds Of Inspiration: Eelgrass Restoration
Restoring eelgrass beds is critical because they provide habitat for many kinds of marine life, improve water quality by filtering out pollution, and the plant’s root system stabilizes the sediment on the seafloor, protecting shorelines from erosion.
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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Open-source collaboration transforms water management by democratizing technical expertise and breaking down data silos. This community-driven approach fosters transparent innovation, allowing global experts to share insights that build more resilient infrastructure and secure water futures.
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How GenAI Is Supercharging Digital Transformation For Rural Water Utilities Across The United States
From streamlining data workflows to preserving decades of field knowledge, utilities of all sizes are demonstrating that GenAI isn’t just a technology trend — it’s a workforce enabler.
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CMMS and EAM go-lives in GMP environments hinge on more than timing. Explore how big-bang, phased, compliance-first, and patchwork approaches shift validation effort, audit risk, and operational strain.
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Coagulation and flocculation remain essential but increasingly sensitive processes, requiring flexible design and real-time optimisation to maintain performance across widening source water variability.
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Next-generation chlorine sensors eliminate the need for reagents and membranes, while offering flow-independent, multi-parameter, self-cleaning operation. This reduces maintenance and enhances monitoring accuracy.
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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.
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As regulatory standards for PFAS become more stringent, specialized ion exchange resins provide a more efficient, high-capacity alternative to traditional carbon media, ultimately lowering long-term operational costs and improving overall system throughput and performance.
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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.
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Learn five essential best practices to maintain a sterile incubator shaker environment, from routine cleaning and humidity control to advanced HEPA filtration for reliable results.
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Biologics are transforming medicine, with semaglutide leading the way. Discover how an automated LC-MS/MS workflow enables high-sensitivity quantification of peptides in plasma.
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Ultrafiltration offers a precise way to concentrate and purify proteins while removing smaller molecules. Learn how technique choice and membrane selection influence recovery, purity, and consistency.
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Achieve ultra-sensitive glucagon quantification with ionKey/MS, μElution SPE, and advanced MS fragmentation to deliver low LOD, reduced sample loss, and enhanced confidence in results.
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Flat-rate clinical trial payments are often taxable in the U.S., while reimbursements are not. Unclear tax rules can impact participant trust, site communication, and trial retention.
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Explore chromatography fundamentals, resin selection strategies, and the regulatory frameworks required to qualify automated systems for compliant, commercial-scale biologics manufacturing.
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Explore how PFAS in medical devices pose environmental and health concerns, prompting regulatory scrutiny.
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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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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.
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Recent federal PFAS regulations will overwhelm consulting engineers, water and wastewater utilities, and equipment manufacturers as thousands of utilities work to comply. Generative design can enable these parties to meet the workload demand and deadlines.