scholarly journals Estimates of endemic waterborne risks from community-intervention studies

2006 ◽  
Vol 4 (S2) ◽  
pp. 89-99 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rebecca L. Calderon ◽  
Gunther F. Craun
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Drinking Water ◽  
Water Treatment ◽  
Surface Water ◽  
Intervention Studies ◽  
Community Intervention ◽  
Drinking Water Treatment ◽  
The United States ◽  
Epidemiologic Studies ◽  
Natural Experiments

The nature and magnitude of endemic waterborne disease are not well characterized in the United States. Epidemiologic studies of various designs can provide an estimate of the waterborne attributable risk along with other types of information. Community drinking water systems frequently improve their operations and may change drinking water treatment and their major source of water. In the United States, many of these treatment changes are the result of regulations promulgated under the Safe Drinking Water Act. A community-intervention study design takes advantage of these “natural” experiments to assess changes in health risks. In this paper, we review the community-intervention studies that have assessed changes in waterborne gastroenteritis risks among immunocompetent populations in industrialized countries. Published results are available from two studies in Australia, one study in the United Kingdom, and one study in the United States. Preliminary results from two other US studies are also available. Although the current information is limited, the risks reported in these community-intervention studies can help inform the national estimate of endemic waterborne gastroenteritis. Information is provided about endemic waterborne risks for unfiltered surface water sources and a groundwater under the influence of surface water. Community-intervention studies with recommended study modifications should be conducted to better estimate the benefits associated with improved drinking water treatment.

Role of membrane technology in drinking water treatment in the United States

Desalination ◽  
1997 ◽  
Vol 113 (2-3) ◽  
pp. 119-127 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joseph G. Jacangelo ◽  
R. Rhodes Trussell ◽  
Montgomery Watson
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Drinking Water ◽  
Water Treatment ◽  
Drinking Water Treatment ◽  
The United States ◽  
Membrane Technology

Log DOW: Key to Understanding and Regulating Wastewater-Derived Contaminants

2006 ◽  
Vol 3 (6) ◽  
pp. 439 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martha J. M. Wells
Keyword(s):  
Drinking Water ◽  
Wastewater Treatment ◽  
Water Treatment ◽  
Surface Water ◽  
Water Distribution ◽  
Drinking Water Treatment ◽  
The United States ◽  
Water Soluble ◽  
Water And Wastewater Treatment ◽  
Ph Dependent

Environmental Context. Worldwide, surface water is a source of drinking water and is a recipient of wastewater effluents and pollutants. Many surface water bodies undergo a natural, cyclical, diurnal variation in pH between 7 and 9. Most drinking water and wastewater treatment in the United States is conducted between pH 7 and 8. The pH of water undergoing treatment processes directly impacts the ratio of nonionized to ionized chemical form(s) present, which in turn impacts the success rate of contaminant removal. Many organic wastewater-derived contaminants are very water soluble at pH 7–8 and are inadequately treated. Abstract. Wastewater-derived contaminants (WWDCs) occur in surface water due to inadequate wastewater treatment and subsequently challenge the capabilities of drinking water treatment. Fundamental chemical properties must be understood to reduce the occurrence of known WWDCs and to better anticipate future chemical contaminants of concern to water supplies. To date, examination of the fundamental properties of WWDCs in surface water appears to be completely lacking or inappropriately applied. In this research, the hydrophobicity–ionogenicity profiles of WWDCs reported to occur in surface water were investigated, concentrating primarily on pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs), steroids, and hormones. Because most water treatment is conducted between pH 7 and 8 and because DOW, the pH-dependent n-octanol–water distribution ratio embodies simultaneously the concepts of hydrophobicity and ionogenicity, DOW at pH 7–8 is presented as an appropriate physicochemical parameter for understanding and regulating water treatment. Although the pH-dependent chemical character of hydrophobicity is not new science, this concept is insufficiently appreciated by scientists, engineers, and practitioners currently engaged in chemical assessment. The extremely hydrophilic character of many WWDCs at pH 7–8, indicated by DOW (the combination of KOW and pKa) not by KOW of the neutral chemical, is proposed as an indicator of occurrence in surface water.

scholarly journals A critical review of point-of-use drinking water treatment in the United States

2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jishan Wu ◽  
Miao Cao ◽  
Draco Tong ◽  
Zach Finkelstein ◽  
Eric M. V. Hoek
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Drinking Water ◽  
Water Treatment ◽  
Performance Monitoring ◽  
State Of The Art ◽  
Drinking Water Treatment ◽  
The United States ◽  
Smart Water ◽  
Point Of Use ◽  
The U.S

AbstractEnsuring safe water supply for communities across the United States is a growing challenge due to aging infrastructure, impaired source water, strained community finances, etc. In 2019, about 6% of public water utilities in the U.S. had a health-based violation. Due to the high risk of exposure to various contaminants in drinking water, point-of-use (POU) drinking water treatment is rapidly growing in popularity in the U.S. and beyond. POU treatment technologies include various combinations of string-wound sediment filters, activated carbon, modified carbon, ion exchange and redox media filters, reverse osmosis membranes, and ultraviolet lamps depending on the contaminants of concern. While the technologies are well-proven, highly commoditized, and cost-effective, most systems offer little in the way of real-time performance monitoring or interactive technology like other smart home appliances (e.g., thermostats, smoke detectors, doorbells, etc.). Herein, we review water quality regulations and violations in the U.S. as well as state-of-the-art POU technologies and systems with an emphasis on their effectiveness at removing the contaminants most frequently reported in notices of violations. We conclude by briefly reviewing emerging smart water technologies and the needs for advances in the state-of-the-art technologies. The smartness of commercially available POU water filters is critiqued and a definition of smart water filter is proposed.

scholarly journals First Derivative UV Spectra of Surface Water as a Monitor of Chlorination in Drinking Water Treatment

2001 ◽  
Vol 1 ◽  
pp. 39-43 ◽  
Author(s):  
V. Zitko
Keyword(s):  
Drinking Water ◽  
Water Treatment ◽  
Surface Water ◽  
Distribution System ◽  
Drinking Water Treatment ◽  
Uv Spectra ◽  
Free Chlorine ◽  
Residual Chlorine ◽  
First Derivative ◽  
Derivative Spectra

Many countries require the presence of free chlorine at about 0.1 mg/l in their drinking water supplies. For various reasons, such as cast-iron pipes or long residence times in the distribution system, free chlorine may decrease below detection limits. In such cases it is important to know whether or not the water was chlorinated or if nonchlorinated water entered the system by accident. Changes in UV spectra of natural organic matter in lakewater were used to assess qualitatively the degree of chlorination in the treatment to produce drinking water. The changes were more obvious in the first derivative spectra. In lakewater, the derivative spectra have a maximum at about 280 nm. This maximum shifts to longer wavelengths by up to 10 nm, decreases, and eventually disappears with an increasing dose of chlorine. The water treatment system was monitored by this technique for over 1 year and changes in the UV spectra of water samples were compared with experimental samples treated with known amounts of chlorine. The changes of the UV spectra with the concentration of added chlorine are presented. On several occasions, water, which received very little or no chlorination, may have entered the drinking water system. The results show that first derivative spectra are potentially a tool to determine, in the absence of residual chlorine, whether or not surface water was chlorinated during the treatment to produce potable water.

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