WATER INDUSTRY FEATURES, INSIGHTS, AND ANALYSIS
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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.
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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?
VIEWS ON THE LATEST REGS
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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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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.
MORE WATER INDUSTRY FEATURES
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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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mAb aggregation can arise from molecular properties, process conditions, and equipment‑driven stress. Learn where aggregation risk increases across downstream processing and formulation.
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Enhance medical device reprocessing with multi-stage filtration that reduces bacteria and contaminants, limits recontamination risk, protects device integrity, and supports safer infection control.
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In this article, we outline the sources, occurrence, known health issues, and mitigation options for specific contaminants.
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Industrial pollution increasingly threatens clean groundwater. Learn how UV advanced oxidation permanently destroys resilient micropollutants like 1,4-dioxane and VOCs at the molecular level, while simultaneously providing robust pathogen disinfection without chemical byproducts.
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Calgon Carbon’s AquaKnight GC systems are designed from the top down to improve flow, adsorption, and media life.
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Filtrasorb 400’s agglomerated pore structure and high volumetric capacity deliver unmatched PFAS removal, longer run times, and lower lifecycle costs — outperforming direct-activated carbons in real-world and lab testing.
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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.
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Understanding the distinct boundaries between theoretical detection, laboratory capabilities, and reliable quantification ensures defensible water-quality reporting. Master these analytical metrics to select appropriate methods and avoid overstating data certainty in compliance reporting.
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This case study demonstrates the effectiveness of a new technology for removing PFAS from well water to below the EPA’s detection limits.
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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.
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Examine how a 21‑mer oligo was synthesized and purified through systematic resin screening, method optimization, and successful scale‑up to build reliable, high‑purity chromatography workflows.
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Transitioning to a hybrid-cloud architecture allows municipal utilities to securely centralize operational data. This structure gives engineering teams and consultants safe, self-serve access to near real-time insights, streamlining regulatory reporting and optimizing chemical usage.
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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.
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Read about three of the most pressing wastewater challenges utilities face today and how Stratmoor Hills, Key West Resort Utilities, and Beijing Water Group are using advanced treatment and reuse to overcome them.
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When standard water‑based integrity testing falls short, product‑wet approaches can offer a more representative alternative. Learn how risk‑based strategies are used to establish reliable test limits.
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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 how N-1 intensification shortens production timelines and improves cell viability by replacing traditional filtration with automated, low-shear separation techniques to achieve higher seeding densities.