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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CyanoFluor

CyanoFluor is a dual-channel handheld fluorometer designed for harmful algal bloom monitoring. By measuring chlorophyll-a and phycocyanin simultaneously, it differentiates cyanobacteria from other phytoplankton with precision. Portable, factory calibrated, and easy to use, CyanoFluor supports early detection, rapid assessment, and ongoing monitoring of blooms, protecting ecosystems, aquaculture, and drinking water supplies from the impacts of toxic algae.

Water Reuse Is No Longer A Choice. It's A Necessity.

Water reuse is no longer a choice. It’s a necessity. Orenco’s AdvanTex Treatment Systems consistently produce clear effluent that meets the most stringent permit limits.

Potable Water Treatment Mini Train System_Datasheets_PWT-125_

Potable Water Treatment Mini Train System: PWT 125

For remote sites with peak populations between 500 and 2,000 people, the newterra PWT-125 Mini Train System offers exceptional capacity and flexibility. The base system for up to 500 people consists of two 40' containerized elements – a discrete distribution/disinfection unit and a treatment unit. The Mini Train design allows up to four (4) treatment units to be added to a single distribution unit, providing potable water treatment for 2,000 people. The system is designed to integrate with containerized or free standing tanks for water storage. The treatment system is available for both groundwater and surface water sources.

DE NORA TETRA™ Modular Deepbed™ Filter Modular Packaged Filtration Plant

The DE NORA TETRA™ Modular DeepBed Filter Plant from De Nora Water Technologies is designed as a competitive filtration plant for tertiary effluent from small to medium size sewage works. The Modular DeepBed Filter utilizes the technology of DeepBed filtration that has made the TETRA filter such a successful tertiary treatment process over many years in Europe and the United States.

ShaleFlow™: A Transportable, Modular Solution For Produced Water Reuse

Veolia has developed ShaleFlow™, a cost-effective transportable solution for reuse of produced water and flowback water from hydraulic fracturing operations. This compact, modular system utilizes proven technologies designed to enable reuse with the flexibility to be moved as the field is developed.

Desalination Of Sea Water

Desalination is the name given to processes that remove salt from water

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child drinking from water fountain-GettyImages-908165614

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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Selecting A Platform Filter For High Concentration mAbs

Read more about how Fujifilm Diosynth Biotechnologies evaluated a prime filter with challenging simulant solutions and how the experimental data confirmed superior performance, which demonstrated twice the throughput.
Robust Database Characterizes And Optimizes Product Development

Integrating material characterization data with process parameters accelerates drug development, reduces empirical testing, and strengthens regulatory compliance.
PFAS Pilots: Strategic Planning To Reduce Risk And Optimize Costs

Learn why piloting PFAS treatment is essential to reduce risk, optimize costs, and ensure compliance—plus the seven key steps to design a pilot that delivers reliable, real-world results.
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.
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.
Identifying Contaminants Of Concern

In this article, we outline the sources, occurrence, known health issues, and mitigation options for specific contaminants.
Demystifying CROMERR: A Practical Guide To Attaining CROMERR Approval For Pretreatment Programs

Achieving EPA compliance for electronic pretreatment reporting requires meeting Cross-Media Electronic Reporting Rule standards. Following a clear five-step application path ensures electronic submissions maintain legal enforceability equal to traditional paper signatures.
Keeping mAb Aggregation Low During The Final UF/DF Step

mAb aggregation can arise from molecular properties, process conditions, and equipment‑driven stress. Learn where aggregation risk increases across downstream processing and formulation.
That Color Isn't Right – What Went Wrong?

Chemical interferences during water testing can hide critical corrosion issues and fuel bacterial growth. Understanding colorimetric chemistry helps operators accurately identify testing anomalies, correct pH conditions, and protect cooling systems from bio-fouling.
ISO 18562 Series 2024: Essential Updates And Testing Requirements

Taking a proactive approach to compliance can help minimize regulatory risks, avoid submission delays, and ensure continued market access.
EPA's Proposed Perchlorate Regulation: What It Means For Treatment Engineers And Oxidation Strategies

EPA’s proposed perchlorate regulation challenges utilities to integrate advanced oxidation and separation technologies, enabling reliable removal, regulatory compliance, and flexible treatment for emerging contaminants.
Improving API Solubility With Mesoporous Silica

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.
Ozone Vs. UV-AOP: Choosing The Right Path For Advanced Water Treatment

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.

Rapid Release Testing Starts With Faster Contaminant Detection

Switch to rapid sequencing-based contaminant detection to accelerate advanced therapy release timelines, minimize batch rejection risks, and bypass slow, culture-based testing methods.
Designing For Growth: How To Build Modular Capacity Without Breaking Ground Twice

Learn how to design wastewater infrastructure that grows with demand. Modular systems allow phased capacity additions that match actual flow, avoiding the high cost of oversizing and eliminating the need for disruptive, repeated construction.
Filtration: The Overlooked Enabler Of Process Intensification

Process intensification depends on more than facility changes. Smarter choices can help improve yield, throughput, and sustainability, turning an often-overlooked step into a meaningful contributor.
Covalent Warhead Reactivity: A New Look At GSH Reactivity Assays

Understanding covalent warhead kinetics is key to reducing safety risks early in discovery. Learn about a new approach to GSH‑based measurements that offers clearer predictors of toxicity.

WATER INDUSTRY FEATURES, INSIGHTS, AND ANALYSIS

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