AWWA ACE70895

While many drinking water utilities have encountered and dealt with arsenic, total dissolved solids (TDS), nitrates,and radionuclides, there are numerous "other" inorganic constituents that could affect water quality and thesubsequent choice of treatment processes. A national survey was conducted to determine what "other" inorganicsare of concern. Data representing responses from 67 public water systems are presented in this poster paper.The most commonly reported "other" inorganic issues were iron and manganese, pH adjustment, hardness, andanions (including bromide, chloride, and sulfate). Utilities with groundwater sources generally had the most issueswith iron, manganese, and hardness, while utilities treating surface water or combined sources had the most issueswith various anions. Utilities with concerns involving common inorganic contaminants of longstanding concern, suchas a utility dealing with an iron and manganese problem for a long time, or with a single inorganic contaminantconcern rated available technologies and information higher than utilities with multiple concerns or utilitiesconcerned with various trace constituents.Survey respondents indicated that the most information and technical solutions were available for iron/manganeseand hardness, the first and third most commonly cited inorganic contaminants, respectively. This suggests that futureresearch could be directed towards pH adjustment, selected anions, and antimony to improve information andtreatment solutions. In general, available information was rated higher than the quality of technical solutions, whichsuggests that future efforts by researchers (possibly Water Research Foundation, American Water Works Association,Water Environment Federation, or U.S. Environmental Protection Agency) should not be limited to technologydissemination, but should include research and development efforts. Includes tables, figures.

Product Details

Edition:

Vol. - No.

Published:

11/01/2009

Number of Pages:

1

File Size:

1 file , 2 MB