Lead contamination in drinking water, caused by corroded service lines that introduce the constituent after water has been treated but before it reaches consumers, continues to plague cities around the country.
In a sign of just how problematic aging water infrastructure still is for major cities around the country, a National Resources Defense Council (NRDC) spokesperson described lead levels in Newark’s drinking water as “jaw-dropping” and “knock-your-socks-off high.”
Entering its fourth week and now the longest in the country’s history, the partial government shutdown is affecting a wide range of federal employees and agencies. Naturally, water and wastewater treatment operations are no exception.
In a sign of just how significant water quality concerns are in Michigan, the state’s governor elect signed an executive directive related to the issue as her first such move in office.
An increasing number of towns are banning the addition of fluoride to water, a common practice across the country.
The U.S. EPA under Trump administration is considering a major overhaul of how it assesses scientific research, a move that critics say could render the agency more toothless in protecting the drinking water supply.
Jennifer Aquino, Chief Operating Officer at Cenduit recently had the opportunity to visit with several clients and opinion leaders on a year-end “listening tour,” to discuss their issues and goals for 2019 and beyond. Read what they had to say regarding the industry’s challenges and opportunities.
In 2007 the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM) issued a consent decree to the City of Fort Wayne, Indiana to improve water quality and prevent negative effects from CSO events by achieving over a 90% reduction in these overflows by the end of 2025.
There are many types of water meters being used across the U.S. to measure water consumption. And even though the panacea for a water utility would be to equip each residence with the same meter — standardizing metering technique, data capture and maintenance — the reality is that a utility needs to be able to read and service the variety of meters that make up its metering portfolio.
Water quite literally flows through every facet of life, being the key element for everyone and everything on Earth. The world’s population is increasing at 1.1 percent (roughly 83 million) every year, an incredible and alarming rate straining the world’s fresh water supply. The increasing pressures between what humanity demands and what is currently available emphasizes the importance of conservation.
Today’s biologics pipeline is healthy, but near-term forecasts indicate growth so robust, the industry risks being ill-equipped to meet demand. Can biopharma count on contract manufacturers to rise to the demand challenge?
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.
As with most things in life, there are those water utilities that have and those that don’t. According to the EPA, less than 3% of the 150,110 operational public water systems (PWS) in the U.S. serve more than 10,000 people. And those 4,500 systems serve 79% of the population. Not that being big means living trouble free. Many of these water authorities serve cities plagued by under investment over decades in their water systems. And yet with large rate-bases comes the means to spread the investment in modern technology across many households and water consumers.
A car struck a fire hydrant in the middle of the night in California, creating a massive water leak. Even before first responders were notified, a pressure sensor sent a text alert to the water utility manager, who was able to dispatch a crew to the scene within minutes. What’s significant is that the utility responded long before receiving a call from emergency crews or an alert from its SCADA system installed in a nearby pump station.
Just as different water utilities use different processes for turning raw source water into potable drinking water, so too do they take different routes to account for, and bill for, their output. Here is an overview of a cellular-based approach to collecting and leveraging data from water distribution operations that can achieve the greatest business advantage.
Over the last several years the wastewater reuse segment of the water industry has experienced both rapid growth and tremendous change. Global demand for increased water supplies fuels the development of alternative water sources, including reclaimed wastewater.
HUBER+SUHNER’s SMP-SL (Self-Lock) mechanism is designed to ensure reliable electrical and mechanical performance in even the most extreme aerospace and defense environments. The unique combination of a MIL-STD-348 SMP interface together with a low-profile self-locking design provides an integral connector solution with exceptional electrical and mechanical performance.
The NuPower™ L60T01 is a L- and S-band solid-state power amplifier designed to deliver over 60 Watts of RF power in the 960 to 1390 MHz frequency range to extend the operational range of airborne telemetry links and transmitters. Based on the latest GaN technology, the amplifier’s 25% power efficiency at rated power and <10 in3 form factor make it ideal for size, weight, and power-constrained airborne RF telemetry, tactical communication systems, and electronic warfare systems.
Anton Paar’s PSA series incorporates fifty years of experience. The world's first laser diffraction particle size analyzer – the first-ever PSA – was invented in 1967. The three models PSA 990, PSA 1090, and PSA 1190 are designed to measure a wide range of particle sizes in liquid dispersions or dry powders.
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.
With patients’ lives at the end of the pipeline, biologics contract manufacturing needs to be safe, reliable and consistent in supply. The developers of these large molecule drugs, however, are also operating in a highly competitive space. Speed-to-market is imperative, along with efficient processes and low costs. A lot of this will rest on the quality of the cell line development and the expertise of the biologics CMO you choose.
The In-VitroCell™ ES (Energy Saver) model NU-8600 is a CO2 Incubator that uses heated water that surrounds the growth chamber to created uniform temperature conditions for cell culture growth. Water Jacket model NU-8600 also uses an IR sensor to maintain proper CO2 gas levels and produces a humidified environment up to 95% perfect for mammalian cell studies.
The U.S. EPA is gearing up to limit perchlorate in public drinking water systems, so municipalities should start preparing to adopt the appropriate testing and treatment technologies. In a recent report, the agency identified several technologies as the best available to address the perchlorate problem.
When I attended the U.S. EPA-hosted PFAS Summit held at the Horsham, PA high school auditorium on July 25, 2018, the education I received from state and municipal leaders focusing on the local problem was more than just a professional briefing. It was ominously personal, due to the fact that the Water Online editorial office where I work and drink water every day is served by a utility sitting smack-dab in the middle of one of the most concentrated PFAS hotspots in the U.S.
Nick Burns, director of water treatment technology for (the Americas region of) Black & Veatch, discusses the health concerns, current regulatory status, and documented presence of perfluorinated compounds (PFCs), also sometimes called perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), in drinking water supplies — as determined by sampling under the U.S. EPA's Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Rule 3 (UCMR3).
By now, just about everyone in the U.S. has heard about Flint, Michigan’s water woes. Despite the many issues raised by that incident, urban water systems are not the sole reason the 2017 Report Card from the American Society of Civil Engineers gives the U.S. drinking water infrastructure an overall “D” grade. Hidden within that disheartening rating are the harsh realities faced by rural water systems.
It’s no secret that the U.S. EPA has changed course in the last year. But how have those changes affected local water and wastewater treatment operations? And how are those operations going to evolve along with the federal agency?
You may have read recently that Orange County Water District (OCWD) and Orange County Sanitation District (OCSD) set a Guinness World Record for the most wastewater recycled to drinking water in 24 hours. The record attempt kicked off on February 15th 2018 to mark the 10th anniversary since the districts’ Groundwater Replenishment System was launched and culminated with more than 100 million gallons per day (MGD) being produced.
Just as different water utilities use different processes for turning raw source water into potable drinking water, so too do they take different routes to account for, and bill for, their output. Here is an overview of a cellular-based approach to collecting and leveraging data from water distribution operations that can achieve the greatest business advantage.
You’ve seen the headlines, read the case studies, taken stock of your resilience plan (or lack thereof), and posed the question “What now?” Here are a dozen ways battery-powered wireless recorders and transmitters can support a new Resiliency Master Plan for your utility and your community — one that can provide cost-saving and even life-saving insights under extreme conditions.
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.
It is no secret that a large portion of the drinking water infrastructure in the United States is near or past its intended design life. Our nation’s water infrastructure needs an overhaul, and the cost of doing so is climbing rapidly. The American Society of Civil Engineering’s 2017 Infrastructure Report Card graded the nation’s drinking water infrastructure a D. According to the American Water Works Association, an estimated $1 trillion is necessary to maintain and expand drinking water service to meet demands over the next 25 years.
Potable reuse of wastewater has gone by many different names, some of them unflattering, like “toilet to tap.” Despite the clear benefits of water reuse, this so-called “ick factor” has slowed the adoption of technology that can transform wastewater into drinking water.
The advanced oxidation process removes contaminants in water and wastewater by oxidation through reactions with highly reactive hydroxyl radicals (.OH). This chemical process uses ozone (O3), hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), and/or UV light.
Anritsu x-ray systems give food & pharma producers the best combination of contaminant detection, reliability and low total cost of ownership.
Fluence’s first MABR plant in mainland U.S. gives California new medium- and small-scale treatment options that comply with the state’s stringent standards for water reuse
Microfiltration and ultrafiltration have become mainstays in the water treatment arena. These processes remove contaminants from water by passing it through a low-pressure membrane. Membrane filters are constructed with a variety of materials with various pore sizes. The challenge is determining which best suits the application with regard to performance, cost, and ease of operation.
Rising temperatures and precipitation combined with increasing nutrient runoff from human activity are elevating challenges in water treatment efforts. In some cases, that means increased threats to drinking water quality. In others, it means increasingly stringent nutrient discharge levels. Either way, taking the nutrient monitoring battle out to the field can help in waging a better fight at the treatment plant.
Fresh water sources around the globe are becoming increasingly stressed due to population growth, industry use, and changing climate patterns. These stresses drive the need to make the most out of every drop of water available. Water treatment systems inherently produce a waste stream that contains contaminants removed during the treatment process. This waste stream can often constitute 20-30% of the total water fed to the treatment system, representing a significant loss of a precious resource both in human and economic terms. Minimizing this waste stream is a key part of the solution to solving the water crisis for both industry and people.
Proficiency Testing (PT) is the name used by the International Standards Organization for a procedure also known as “inter-laboratory study” or “external quality assessment” or “ring test”. Proficiency testing, in simple terms, comprises a sample sent to a group of laboratories for measurement. The labs know what might be in the sample, but they don’t know exactly what is there or the concentration. Their results are compared with the known or true value and the lab is assigned a “Z” score to show how closely their result came to the target.
In drinking water treatment’s ongoing battle between disinfection and disinfection byproducts (DBPs), most water utility customers are oblivious to the process. One thing they do notice, however, is when their water smells or tastes bad. Here are some insights that can help water treatment plant (WTP) operators deal with their internal concerns about DBPs and residual chlorine or ammonia levels, as well as their external concerns about customer perceptions of water quality.
One of the great turnaround stories in the history of our nation’s water bodies is that of the Chesapeake Bay. Since 1976 when the Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA) first undertook a comprehensive study of the Bay, efforts to address excessive nitrogen and phosphorous degradation of water quality have steadily improved the Bay’s complex ecosystem.
From the largest metropolitan utilities to the smallest water systems, leaks are a problem everywhere. Because it’s difficult to raise consumer prices to offset the losses, non-revenue water has a direct impact on the bottom line of municipal water systems. However, utility managers now have an opportunity to reverse the problem with advanced flow meter technology that combines multiple measurements.
Business people love to talk about "disruption." They pride themselves on eating their competitors' lunch. Where their markets used to be about raving fans, now it's about inspiring craving fans, fueled by "hunger marketing" and the fear of missing out. There's a lot of dog-eat-dog philosophy...which is why it's important for companies to be willing to cannibalize their own technologies.
Municipalities work diligently to produce quality drinking water and meet strict wastewater treatment regulatory standards while judiciously managing expenses. Despite the efforts, many of their plants have operational weaknesses where money is quietly being lost. Advanced technologies provide an opportunity for utilities to gather actionable information and strategically offset deficiencies.
