SOURCE WATER CONTAMINATION RESOURCES

• 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.

• 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.

• 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.

• 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.
• 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.

• 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?
• The Devastating Legacy Of Algaecides: Why The Quick Fix Is Failing Our Lakes As warmer months approach, water management professionals must confront the compounding consequences of biocidal algae treatments.
• What Is The Future Of Source Water Protection? Water utility managers and municipal leaders have long struggled amid the convergence of several threats to public water supplies. During a recent Water Online Live event, I sat with a panel of industry experts to examine the transition from reactive crisis management to a proactive, adaptive resilience framework.
• 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.

• 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.