DRINKING WATER ANALYSIS RESOURCES

• Mitigating Capital Upgrades To A Wastewater Treatment Plant Using DNA Sequencing

  A municipal wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) was planning to carry out an expensive capital upgrade to improve treatment performance and bring the plant into compliance. A study was done to determine if alternative solutions to the upgrade could be found.

• 2020 Industry Forecast: Treatment Moves Down The Line

  It’s no secret that safe and readily available water is important for public health, can boost economic growth and help reduce poverty. But factors such as climate change, growing populations, natural disasters, increasing water scarcity, and urbanization continue to challenge water systems around the world. 

• Preparing To Tackle The Hydra Of LCR Revisions

  As a journalist serving the water industry — but not yet a seasoned technical veteran — I attended a recent Lead In Drinking Water Forum sponsored by AWWA NJ to learn about the challenges of complying with the proposed Lead and Copper Rule Revisions (LCRR). What I heard impressed upon me the technical, administrative, and logistical challenges of delivering safe, lead-free drinking water all the way to user taps. Here are my takeaways.

• Moneyball For Water And Wastewater Treatment

  The movie and sports term has infiltrated the business world and has important implications for the water/wastewater industry.

• Calibrating Success: Improved Tools To Maintain Flowmeter Accuracy

  Water utilities with highly successful monitoring programs tend to share a common trait: they have a well-defined plan for calibration that emphasizes frequency and tracking. However, when done properly, this process is time-consuming and often leads to unnecessary labor and downtime. The good news is that advanced metering technology is available for plants to get a better handle on the instrument’s performance with significantly less effort.

• Water Monitoring's Triple Threat: Bad Habits, Bad Readings, Bad Results

  When water and wastewater plant operators can’t get accurate flow measurements or analytical readings — or lack confidence in their instruments’ readings — it creates challenges with the process. When substandard water goes to homes and causes a boil order, or discharge pollutes a lake or reservoir, the resulting bad press, fines, and potential lawsuits erode public confidence. Avoiding these kinds of problems is rooted in good preventive maintenance habits.

• Sounding The Alarm On Silent Noncompliance

  Water and wastewater utility operators work diligently to operate within strict guidelines, ensuring their facilities are producing the best drinking water and highest quality effluent possible. Despite all their efforts, however, it can be easy to fall outside of regulatory compliance without even being aware. The key to avoiding problems like these is to understand how silent noncompliance can happen and knowing when to raise a red flag.

• Installing Granular Activated Carbon Today To Prevent Regulatory Issues In The Future

  In 2010, Shelby County Water Services (SCWS) was planning for the future. With new regulations on the horizon, SCWS determined that the Talladega/Shelby water treatment plant in Shelby County, AL, needed more effective removal of disinfection byproducts (DBPs). Specifically, the treatment plant needed help complying with the U.S. EPA’s new Stage 2 Disinfection Byproduct Rule (DBPR).

• Alaska WTP Takes Control Of Water Quality With UV254

  With the ongoing concern about water quality in Alaska, Philip Downing, the Remote Maintenance Worker for South East Alaska Regional Health Consortium, offered a new approach to a plant’s ability to continuously monitor and adjust treatment processes in response to changes in raw water quality.