Water Treatment
CE 326 Principles of Environmental Engineering
February 22, 2008
Tim Ellis, Ph.D., P.E.
Four Water Quality
Characteristics
• Physical
– Turbidity
– Color
– Taste and odor
– Temperature
• Chemical
– Inorganic substances
– Organic substances
• Biological
• Radiological
Maximum Contaminant Levels for Inorganic Compounds
Existing MCL (mg/L) MCLG (mg/L)
Contaminant
Arsenic 0.01 0
Asbestos 7 million fibers/L 7 million fibers/L
Barium 2.0 2.0
Cadmium 0.005 0.005
Chromium 0.1 0.1
Lead 0.015 TT 0
Mercury 0.002 0.002
Nitrate (as N) 10.0 10.0
Nitrite (as N) 1.0 1.0
Selenium 0.05 0.05
Thallium 0.0005 0.002
Organic Substances
• Volatile Organic Compounds.
– Compounds which are characterized by high
v_____________ are classified as volatile
organic compounds (VOCs).
– VOCs may have particular adverse health
effects.
– They are a result of industrial, commercial,
and agricultural activity.
– Many are s___________ or additives (e.g.,
paint thinners).
Synthetic Organic Compounds
• Organic chemicals of an a________________
origin are termed synthetic organic
compounds (SOCs).
• Like VOCs, SOCs may have particular
adverse health effects and are a result of
– industrial,
– commercial, and
– agricultural activity.
• Many SOCs are h__________, p___________,
or i______________.
Disinfection Byproducts
• During disinfection of drinking water, chemical
oxidants kill disease causing organisms
(p_____________) but can also create toxic organic
compounds.
• These are termed disinfection byproducts (DBPs).
• The most common source of DBPs is c__________
or b___________ of water containing organic
matter.
• This often results in trihalomethanes (THMs), the
most common of which are:
– Chloroform (CHCl3)
– Bromoform (CHBr3)
– Bromodichloromethane (CHBrCl2)
– Dibromochloromethane (CHBr2Cl)
Legislation
• SDWA of 1974
– The S____ D_________ W_____ A___ (SDWA) was
signed into law by President Gerald Ford in 1974.
– It established minimum national standards for
drinking water to protect public health.
– The act established p___________ standards which
specified maximum contaminant levels (MCLs) for
individual contaminants suspected of having an
adverse affect on public health.
– The act also established s__________ standards
relating to tastes, odors, and appearance of drinking
water.
– SDWA set a timeline for the promulgation of
standards with a review every three years.
SDWA Amendments of 1986
• By the 1980s, a number of contaminants had yet to be regulated, and on June 19,
1986 President Reagan signed into law the 1986 Amendments to the SDWA.
• Major aspects of the 1986 Amendments to the SDWA included:
– C____________ revisions to drinking water regulations in a timely fashion.
– Definition of a t___________ t___________ for each contaminant regulated.
– Requirement of a treatment technique where it is not feasible to ascertain the
level of a r___________ c______________
– F___________ r_____ for surface waters (Surface Water Treatment Rule,
SWTR).
– D____________ of all water supplies.
– Prohibition on the use of l_____ products on conveyance systems.
– Requirement for the protection of g__________ sources.
• The SDWA directed EPA to set up several classes of compounds for which
regulations are to be developed and to establish a timeline for development of
the regulations.
•
SDWA Amendments of 1996
• On November 29, 1996, the Senate passed a bill to
r_____________ the SDWA.
• This bill contained several amendments to the
regulations which would lessen some of the regulatory
burden on water utilities, especially small systems.
• It bill passed the House on June 25, 1996 and both
houses on
August 2, 1996.
• These amendments locked EPA into a 1998 deadline for
issuing a DBP rule and enhanced SWTR.
• Subsequent review and revisions to current standards is
required every six years.
Contaminant Candidate List
• Currently, EPA has drinking water regulations for
more than 90 contaminants.
• The SDWA required EPA to maintain a list of
unregulated contaminants. EPA uses this list to
prioritize research and data collection efforts to
determine whether to regulate a given contaminant.
• In February 2005, EPA published its second list of
contaminants, the contaminant candidate list (CCL).
Currently EPA is soliciting nominations for CCL3.
EPA LINKS
• For the current list of standards see:
[Link]
• for the time line of promulgation, see:
[Link]
[Link]
• for the contaminant candidate list see:
[Link]
• for nominating a contaminant to the CCL see:
[Link]