As pervasive drought and growing demand for drinking water continues to stress supplies, the world’s water systems have increasingly turned to groundwater reserves. But new research indicates that our reliance on these sources will soon put ecosystems in hundreds of locations around the world at risk.
Once you know Grundfos, you realize the company’s commitment to promoting sustainability is genuine. The global leader in pumps spearheads programs worldwide to help promote the efficient and sustainable use of water and energy.
Despite the official end of a years-long drought in the state, one major California city is poised to take a significant step toward sustainable conservation.
Following years of warnings from drinking water treatment institutions and source water quality advocates, it appears that the federal government is cracking down on potential per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) contamination.
Every city facing infrastructure or operational challenges or concerns about maintaining quality of life in the face of population growth or a changing environment has benefits to gain from a unified smart-city approach. Here are some concepts for promoting understanding and acceptance among utility and government decision-makers, plus several examples of benefits already being garnered by smart cities large and small.
With a federal judge deciding it needs to do a better job to combat E. coli discharge into its waterways, Washington, D.C. could be turning to an unlikely ally in its struggle to clean up local rivers: mussels.
The documented performance of ion exchange (IX) resins for treating per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) offers new opportunities for more practical solutions in many applications. IX has demonstrated its ability to reduce both capital and operating costs compared to the conventional granular activated carbon (GAC) treatment approach.
The State of Florida is facing a problem shared worldwide at this time of year: a prevalence of toxic algae in source water brought on by the combination of warmer temperatures and nutrient runoff. So it’s worth paying attention to a potential fix being implemented in the Sunshine State.
Ammonia is a naturally occurring compound of nitrogen and hydrogen. As a key ingredient in many fertilizers, the most common way that it infiltrates source water and causes water treatment plant (WTP) problems is as agricultural runoff. Fortunately, new biological treatments can now handle ammonia and frequently co-occurring compounds such as iron and manganese all in one process.
In the wake of ongoing source water scarcity, one of the country’s most critical — and critically stressed — drinking water sources will soon benefit from mandatory conservation measures.
Nature has long provided guidance to simple and sustainable ways to manage environmental challenges. Biological treatment of potable water is no exception. As more water is required to support human activity worldwide, sources once considered too contaminated or expensive to treat are quickly becoming necessary options. For groundwater contaminant removal, once again, the laws of nature point the way.
What do a drinking establishment and an eco-friendly writing utensil have in common? They both reflect new and unconventional ways that water is being injected into commerce.
For years, harmful algal blooms (HABs) have posed a threat to drinking water across the country. And now, a tragic incident has illustrated that the problem can have an even more direct effect on our loved ones.
Late last week, the U.S. EPA sent a letter to officials in Newark, NJ, warning them that residents were exposed to dangerous levels of lead contamination in their drinking water and that the city’s efforts to mediate the crisis weren’t working.
Beyond the existential philosophy implications, the consequences of a pipeline leaking in a forest when no one is around highlight the desirability of leak detection systems in water distribution utilities as a whole. As the following experiences show, leak detection can have its entertaining side. On the other side of the coin, however, the consequences of not monitoring leaks can also trigger a tsunami of costs far beyond the expense of pipeline repair alone.
While the laws of physics and chemistry have not changed, the ways that water and wastewater treatment plants (WTPs/WWTPs) are being forced to deal with them certainly have — e.g., disinfection byproducts (DBPs), tighter turbidity standards, harmful algal blooms, and PFAS challenges. Even when plant throughput stays the same, the demands on plant personnel continue to increase. Here’s how evolving toward better workforce management processes can help.
Can you imagine calling the electric company to demand a rebate because you had just received your bill and realized that over the past month, you inadvertently left all your lights on? As ludicrous as this scenario seems, it’s exactly the type of call water utilities receive from their customers.
For most water utilities, maintaining existing infrastructure — whether planned or in response to emergencies — is a large part of physical plant costs. Being prepared to respond is half the battle. Here are several guidelines and options to consider for maintaining the most cost-efficient solutions to everyday pipeline problems. As with most good plans, they start with proper organization.
Driven by tight budgets and competing needs for limited CAPEX funds, wastewater treatment plants are increasingly looking to reduce their operating expenses. Many are now referring to themselves as water resource recovery facilities (WRRFs), reflecting a heightened focus on recovering nutrients, methane, and a host of other properties from their waste flows. The largest boon to date has come from thermal energy, but producing biogas comes with its own set of challenges, including accurate gas flow measurement.
Let’s start by taking the subject at face value. Quarterly business reviews (QBRs) offer valuable face-to-face time with clients, and that plays an important role in relationship and retention. The QBR is a chance to check your customer’s pulse and an opportunity to demonstrate value. Tell them how many updates you’ve pushed, bugs you’ve squashed, threats you disarmed, and so forth. Here are a few pointers for making a QBR productive and profitable.
Salvator Mundi sold for nearly half a billion dollars. Walter Isaacson’s latest biography is a breakaway hit. Management guru Michael Gelb’s book accessing the thought techniques of history’s most accomplished Renaissance Man — in every literal and figurative sense of the word — is still a bestseller. Almost 500 years after his death, Leonardo da Vinci is still a superstar.
Blair Brettmann, Ph.D., assistant professor in Georgia Tech’s School of Materials Science and Engineering, discusses the current state of continuous manufacturing in the pharmaceutical industry, her group’s research into electrospinning and other novel approaches, and how to overcome the challenges to further adoption of continuous processes.
When space is tight and straight-run piping is at a premium, V-Cone differential pressure (DP) meters are an excellent choice — especially where the potential for turbulence raises metering accuracy issues with other conventional meter styles. This article describes how to satisfy some challenging water infrastructure applications with V-Cone meter accuracy at a low permanent pressure loss.
Title 22 of California’s Water Recycling Criteria is among the strictest water treatment standards for water recycling and reuse in the United States. Fluence’s MABR demonstration plant was installed at the Codiga Resource Recovery Center (CR2C) in Stanford, California, in January 2018 for the purpose of third-party evaluation. The testing parameters included criteria to evaluate reliable enhanced nutrient removal in the form of Total Nitrogen, which is increasingly important across the United States and difficult and costly to achieve through conventional wastewater treatment.
Owner/Executive Coaching is a one-on-one engagement with the principal(s) of the business. These typically are focused on one or two areas of the business where the principal does not have experience or is struggling with implementing a solution. Executive Coaching is also used to help accelerate the company’s growth and ensure your growth objectives are met.
The OPTIFLUX 2300 is an electromagnetic flowmeter (EMF) for all demanding applications with water and wastewater. The high-end meter is particularly suitable for applications requiring high accuracy and extensive diagnostics. The EMF has the widest diameter range available in the market (DN25…3000 / 1…120") and complies with requirements for custody transfer (MID MI-001, OIML R49). It also has a wide range of approvals for potable water. This makes the OPTIFLUX 2300 an effective alternative to mechanical water meters, not least in custody transfer measurement of potable water.
We certainly don’t have to tell you that every customer has unique clinical development needs. Our fit-for-purpose CRO solutions are tailored to your product and requirements. Whatever your needs, we can adopt new processes and technologies, diverse therapeutic expertise and access to commercial insights that can facilitate shorter and more efficient trials designed to improve the likelihood of regulatory and commercial success.
Antenna engineers favor advanced antenna systems capable of beam steering and multiple data stream transmission in order to meet 5G throughput requirements. Designing such a device is a difficult task because many factors are involved a device’s performance:
XFdtd and Wireless InSite ensure a comprehensive device design process, from simulating the initial antenna pattern to computing throughput performance in a multipath channel model. Together the products ensure a device will work well in its intended environment.
Best-in-class services designed to simplify and accelerate IoT solution adoption.
Aclara’s water pressure monitoring solution leverages our industry leading Aclara RF network to provide near real-time monitoring of water pressure throughout your distribution network. Whether used for leak detection or managing system-wide pressure, Aclara’s pressure monitoring solution is easy to install, reliable, low maintenance and integrated into your advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) environment.
To make informed decisions about how to limit exposure to cyanotoxins, utilities need information to select and implement a comprehensive and technically sound management approach. The Water Research Foundation (WRF) has been actively involved in developing effective innovative solutions to help utilities address this challenge and protect public health.
August and September are peak months for harmful blooms of algae in western Lake Erie. This year’s outbreak covered more than 620 square miles by mid-August. These blooms, which can kill fish and pets and threaten public health, are driven mainly by agricultural pollution and increasingly warm waters due to climate change.
More public and private resources than ever are being directed to protecting and preserving aquatic ecosystems and watersheds. Whether mandated for land development, farming, or in response to the growing severity and number of natural disasters, scientists from Drexel University found evidence that decades of watershed restoration and mitigation projects have taken place, but their impact is mostly perceived.
Denver Water and engineering partners resolve major water quality challenge in crucial South Platte River exchange reservoirs.
In areas where water, infrastructure, and resources are scarce, a natural and novel solution has emerged — arriving out of thin air, so to speak.
Everyone wants pathogen-free drinking water, and adding chlorine is a great way to get it. Unfortunately, the dirtier a water treatment plant (WTP)’s raw water inflow — in terms of natural organic matter (NOM) or microbial organisms — the more disinfection byproducts (DBPs) the chlorination process will generate in the form of trihalomethanes (THMs) and haloacetic acids (HAAs). Those DBPs increase the risk of non-compliance with the U.S. EPA’s Disinfectants and Disinfection Byproducts Rules. Choosing the right instrumentation to measure NOM through spectral absorption coefficients (SACs) can have a big impact on treatment strategies — in terms of both costs and compliance performance.
In the wastewater treatment industry, coagulation has become one of the most widespread processes for effectively separating contaminants and effluent. But coagulation is a complicated and sensitive process, one that alters the chemical balance of the wastewater in order to strip it of unwanted constituents. As in many such processes, pH plays a critical role, and treatment professionals must analyze it closely if they want to properly coagulate their product.
Inspecting for foreign body contaminants in 25 and 50 lbs bags of sugar presents many challenges. This application note explains how x-ray inspection and the right software simplifies the process.
Effective training for firstline workers is essential. As we explored previously, many companies fail to hit the mark on training their field workers. Utilizing mobile video is one solution to providing effective training to your field force—this blog explores why you should take a cue from popular video platform YouTube.
A biotechnology plant was struggling with the management of the calibration of the more than 100 reference standards covered about 20 calibration service providers. Endress+Hauser took the responsibility to manage the whole calibration process of the reference standards resulting in a reduction of non-conformities achieved has led to better operational quality.
World Water Day (Thursday, March 22nd this year) does a great job of focusing our attention on water issues. And especially with storms on the East Coast and drought in the West, not to mention the looming possibility that officials will have to shut off the taps in Cape Town sometime this summer, a lot of the messaging around water is pretty much like being smothered in a wet blanket.
Pneumatic conveying is an effective form of moving dry materials in food manufacturing. However, the long lengths of conveying pipe present challenges in terms of addressing cleanliness and sanitation.
When drinking water leaves a treatment plant through giant pipes, with the help of huge pumps, the pressure can exceed 200 psi. The high pressure is a necessity because water must travel a long distance in some cases. Water towers scattered throughout the distribution system aid in the process so it can reach all utility customers. The problem is that not all distribution points in a water system are created equal.
Among utilities concerned about resilience and response in natural disasters or other emergencies, precise asset inventory and mapping are high priorities. In truth, there is value in having the same information for everyday purposes as well. For anyone who has ever had a problem locating or tracking key water or wastewater system assets, here are several good reasons and ways to avoid a last-minute scramble.
Industrial operations across the gamut leverage boiler water, the liquid that passes through a boiler and is converted into steam, thus powering operations around the world. But not all of them do as much as they could to ensure peak boiler water efficiency. Through the proper treatment considerations and quality measurement knowledge, every industrial player can make the most of this central process.
IPR'S CIPP liner system for gravity-flow sewers and culverts is the most proven, cost-effective trenchless pipeline rehabilitation system in the industry. It is also the most widely specified form of trenchless pipeline rehabilitation.
Discover how integrated membrane system designs can maximize the operating stability of EDI systems and reduce mixed bed regeneration frequency.
