Enhancing climate adaptation capacity for drinking water treatment facilities

2016 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 485-497 ◽  
Author(s):  
Audrey D. Levine ◽  
Y. Jeffrey Yang ◽  
James A. Goodrich
Keyword(s):  
Water Quality ◽  
Drinking Water ◽  
Water Treatment ◽  
Conventional Treatment ◽  
Distribution Systems ◽  
Climate Adaptation ◽  
Extreme Temperature ◽  
Water Sources ◽  
Modeling Framework ◽  
Adaptation Capacity

Conventional water treatment processes (e.g., coagulation, flocculation, sedimentation, and filtration) are widely used for producing drinking water from surface water sources. Transient, gradual, or abrupt changes in source water quality that could compromise treatment effectiveness can be triggered by climate and related meteorological events, accidental or intentional contamination, security breaches, or other disruptions. However, the design principles that underpin the majority of existing conventional treatment systems predate climate adaptation considerations. This paper considers the adaptation capacity of conventional water treatment systems. A modeling framework is used to illustrate climate adaptation mechanisms that could enable conventional treatment systems to accommodate water quality impairments. Treatment system resiliency is explored in response to generic climate-relevant water quality perturbations such as extreme temperature variations and changes in the quantity and characteristics of solids, particles, and organic constituents. Promising adaptation options include modifying chemical parameters (e.g., types of chemicals, dosages, sequence of chemical addition, mixing intensity and duration), filter operations, and microbiological augmentation of existing physical/chemical treatment systems. The capacity reserve concept provides an organizing principle that could be useful for prioritizing climate adaptation strategies such as major or minor treatment/infrastructure modifications, system-wide upgrades such as off-line storage, operational changes in distribution systems, or the use of supplemental water sources including reclaimed or recycled water.

scholarly journals Effect of increasing bromide concentration on toxicity in treated drinking water

2015 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 183-191 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emma Sawade ◽  
Rolando Fabris ◽  
Andrew Humpage ◽  
Mary Drikas
Keyword(s):  
Water Quality ◽  
Drinking Water ◽  
Water Treatment ◽  
Distribution Systems ◽  
Water Quality Management ◽  
Drinking Water Treatment ◽  
Sudden Onset ◽  
Toxic Species ◽  
Treated Drinking Water ◽  
The Impact

Research is increasingly indicating the potential chronic health effects of brominated disinfection by-products (DBPs). This is likely to increase with elevated bromide concentrations resulting from the impacts of climate change, projected to include extended periods of drought and the sudden onset of water quality changes. This will demand more rigorous monitoring throughout distribution systems and improved water quality management at water treatment plants (WTPs). In this work the impact of increased bromide concentration on formation of DBPs following conventional treatment and chlorination was assessed for two water sources. Bioanalytical tests were utilised to determine cytotoxicity of the water post disinfection. Coagulation was shown to significantly reduce the cytotoxicity of the water, indicating that removal of natural organic matter DBP precursors continues to be an important factor in drinking water treatment. Most toxic species appear to form within the first half hour following disinfectant addition. Increasing bromide concentration across the two waters was shown to increase the formation of trihalomethanes and shifted the haloacetic acid species distribution from chlorinated to those with greater bromine substitution. This correlated with increasing cytotoxicity. This work demonstrates the challenges faced by WTPs and the possible effects increasing levels of bromide in source waters could have on public health.

scholarly journals Using Amplicon Sequencing To Characterize and Monitor Bacterial Diversity in Drinking Water Distribution Systems

2015 ◽  
Vol 81 (18) ◽  
pp. 6463-6473 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer L. A. Shaw ◽  
Paul Monis ◽  
Laura S. Weyrich ◽  
Emma Sawade ◽  
Mary Drikas ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Water Quality ◽  
Drinking Water ◽  
Water Treatment ◽  
Bacterial Communities ◽  
Distribution Systems ◽  
Water Distribution ◽  
Amplicon Sequencing ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Drinking Water Distribution Systems ◽  
Drinking Water Distribution

ABSTRACTDrinking water assessments use a variety of microbial, physical, and chemical indicators to evaluate water treatment efficiency and product water quality. However, these indicators do not allow the complex biological communities, which can adversely impact the performance of drinking water distribution systems (DWDSs), to be characterized. Entire bacterial communities can be studied quickly and inexpensively using targeted metagenomic amplicon sequencing. Here, amplicon sequencing of the 16S rRNA gene region was performed alongside traditional water quality measures to assess the health, quality, and efficiency of two distinct, full-scale DWDSs: (i) a linear DWDS supplied with unfiltered water subjected to basic disinfection before distribution and (ii) a complex, branching DWDS treated by a four-stage water treatment plant (WTP) prior to disinfection and distribution. In both DWDSs bacterial communities differed significantly after disinfection, demonstrating the effectiveness of both treatment regimes. However, bacterial repopulation occurred further along in the DWDSs, and some end-user samples were more similar to the source water than to the postdisinfection water. Three sample locations appeared to be nitrified, displaying elevated nitrate levels and decreased ammonia levels, and nitrifying bacterial species, such asNitrospira, were detected.Burkholderialeswere abundant in samples containing large amounts of monochloramine, indicating resistance to disinfection. Genera known to contain pathogenic and fecal-associated species were also identified in several locations. From this study, we conclude that metagenomic amplicon sequencing is an informative method to support current compliance-based methods and can be used to reveal bacterial community interactions with the chemical and physical properties of DWDSs.

Detection and Health Risk Associated with Low Virus Concentration in Drinking Water

1985 ◽  
Vol 17 (10) ◽  
pp. 97-103 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. Payment ◽  
M. Trudel
Keyword(s):  
Drinking Water ◽  
Water Treatment ◽  
Health Problem ◽  
Conventional Treatment ◽  
Probabilistic Approach ◽  
Detection Methods ◽  
Virus Concentration ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Treated Drinking Water ◽  
Dangerous Level

During the last decade, with the amelioration of the detection methods and the increasing number of studies on the subject, the isolation of viruses in treated drinking water has been reported more frequently than ever. These reports have in common the very low number of viruses isolated and these viruses are usually found only after concentration procedures involving several hundred liters of water. Our own studies have shown that during the conventional treatment of drinking water 99.998% of the indigenous viruses are removed. The residual viral fraction does not exceed 10 viruses per 1 000 liters of water. Using a probabilistic approach this viral concentration in drinking water is well below any dangerous level of enteric viruses in water and the presence of these viruses should not be considered as a health problem but more as the limit of the water treatment methodology.

scholarly journals Perceived agricultural runoff impact on drinking water

2014 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 484-491 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrea Crampton ◽  
Angela T. Ragusa
Keyword(s):  
Water Quality ◽  
Drinking Water ◽  
Surface Water ◽  
Agricultural Runoff ◽  
Water Sources ◽  
Urban Residents ◽  
Agricultural Activity ◽  
Rural Residents ◽  
Management Measures ◽  
Agricultural Contaminants

Agricultural runoff into surface water is a problem in Australia, as it is in arguably all agriculturally active countries. While farm practices and resource management measures are employed to reduce downstream effects, they are often either technically insufficient or practically unsustainable. Therefore, consumers may still be exposed to agrichemicals whenever they turn on the tap. For rural residents surrounded by agriculture, the link between agriculture and water quality is easy to make and thus informed decisions about water consumption are possible. Urban residents, however, are removed from agricultural activity and indeed drinking water sources. Urban and rural residents were interviewed to identify perceptions of agriculture's impact on drinking water. Rural residents thought agriculture could impact their water quality and, in many cases, actively avoided it, often preferring tank to surface water sources. Urban residents generally did not perceive agriculture to pose health risks to their drinking water. Although there are more agricultural contaminants recognised in the latest Australian Drinking Water Guidelines than previously, we argue this is insufficient to enhance consumer protection. Health authorities may better serve the public by improving their proactivity and providing communities and water utilities with the capacity to effectively monitor and address agricultural runoff.

Sensory aspects of drinking water in contact with epoxy lined copper pipe

2007 ◽  
Vol 55 (5) ◽  
pp. 161-168 ◽  
Author(s):  
T.H. Heim ◽  
A.M. Dietrich
Keyword(s):  
Water Quality ◽  
Drinking Water ◽  
Organic Compounds ◽  
Sensory Analysis ◽  
Water Samples ◽  
Distribution System ◽  
Distribution Systems ◽  
Free Chlorine ◽  
Copper Pipe

Pipe relining via in situ epoxy lining is used to remediate corroded plumbing or distribution systems. This investigation examined the effects on odour, TOC, THM formation and disinfectant demand in water exposed to epoxy-lined copper pipes used for home plumbing. The study was conducted in accordance with the Utility Quick Test, a migration/leaching method for utilities to conduct sensory analysis of materials in contact with drinking water. The test was performed using water with no disinfectant and levels of chlorine and monochloramines representative of those found in the distribution system. Panelists repeatedly and consistently described a “plastic/adhesive/putty” odour in the water from the pipes. The odour intensity remained relatively constant for each of two subsequent flushes. Water samples stored in the epoxy-lined pipes showed a significant increase in the leaching of organic compounds (as TOC), and this TOC was demonstrated to react with free chlorine to form trichloromethane. Water stored in the pipes also showed a marked increase in disinfectant demand relative to the water stored in glass control flasks. A study conducted at a full scale installation at an apartment demonstrated that after installation and regular use, the epoxy lining did not yield detectable differences in water quality.

Suspended particles in the drinking water of two distribution systems

2001 ◽  
Vol 1 (4) ◽  
pp. 237-245 ◽  
Author(s):  
V. Gauthier ◽  
B. Barbeau ◽  
R. Millette ◽  
J.-C. Block ◽  
M. Prévost
Keyword(s):  
Water Quality ◽  
Drinking Water ◽  
Organic Matter ◽  
Distribution System ◽  
Distribution Systems ◽  
Suspended Solids ◽  
Suspended Particles ◽  
Raw Water ◽  
Remote Locations ◽  
Dissolved Matter

The concentrations of suspended particles were measured in the drinking water of two distribution systems, and the nature of these particles documented. The concentrations of particulate matter were invariably found to be small (maximum 350 μg/L). They are globally in the very low range in comparison with dissolved matter concentrations, which are measured in several hundreds of mg/L. Except during special water quality events, such as turnover of the raw water resource, results show that organic matter represents the most important fraction of suspended solids (from 40 to 76%) in treated and distributed water. Examination of the nature of the particles made it possible to develop several hypotheses about the type of particles penetrating Montreal's distribution system during the turnover period (algae skeleton, clays). These particles were found to have been transported throughout the distribution systems quite easily, and this could result in the accumulation of deposits if their surface charge were ever even slightly destabilised, or if the particles were to penetrate the laminar flow areas that are fairly typical of remote locations in distribution systems.

scholarly journals Natural organic matter removal by ion exchange at different positions in the drinking water treatment lane

2013 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-10 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Grefte ◽  
M. Dignum ◽  
E. R. Cornelissen ◽  
L. C. Rietveld
Keyword(s):  
Water Quality ◽  
Drinking Water ◽  
Organic Matter ◽  
Water Treatment ◽  
Organic Carbon ◽  
Natural Organic Matter ◽  
Drinking Water Treatment ◽  
Biological Stability ◽  
Sand Filtration ◽  
Slow Sand Filtration

Abstract. To guarantee a good water quality at the customers tap, natural organic matter (NOM) should be (partly) removed during drinking water treatment. The objective of this research was to improve the biological stability of the produced water by incorporating anion exchange (IEX) for NOM removal. Different placement positions of IEX in the treatment lane (IEX positioned before coagulation, before ozonation or after slow sand filtration) and two IEX configurations (MIEX® and fluidized IEX (FIX)) were compared on water quality as well as costs. For this purpose the pre-treatment plant at Loenderveen and production plant Weesperkarspel of Waternet were used as a case study. Both, MIEX® and FIX were able to remove NOM (mainly the HS fraction) to a high extent. NOM removal can be done efficiently before ozonation and after slow sand filtration. The biological stability, in terms of assimilable organic carbon, biofilm formation rate and dissolved organic carbon, was improved by incorporating IEX for NOM removal. The operational costs were assumed to be directly dependent of the NOM removal rate and determined the difference between the IEX positions. The total costs for IEX for the three positions were approximately equal (0.0631 € m−3), however the savings on following treatment processes caused a cost reduction for the IEX positions before coagulation and before ozonation compared to IEX positioned after slow sand filtration. IEX positioned before ozonation was most cost effective and improved the biological stability of the treated water.

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