Accounting for Unexpected Risk Events in Drinking Water Systems

Unexpected risk events in drinking water systems, such as heavy rain or manure spill accidents, can cause waterborne outbreaks of gastrointestinal disease. Using a scenario-based approach, these unexpected risk events were included in a risk-based decision model aimed at evaluating risk reduction alternatives. The decision model combined quantitative microbial risk assessment and cost–benefit analysis and investigated four risk reduction alternatives. Two drinking water systems were compared using the same set of risk reduction alternatives to illustrate the effect of unexpected risk events. The first drinking water system had a high pathogen base load and a high pathogen log10 reduction in the treatment plant, whereas the second drinking water system had a low pathogen base load and a low pathogen Log10 reduction in the treatment plant. Four risk reduction alternatives were evaluated on their social profitability: (A1) installation of pumps and back-up power supply, to remove combined sewer overflows; (A2) installation of UV treatment in the drinking water treatment plant; (A3) connection of 25% of the OWTSs in the catchment area to the WWTP; and (A4) a combination of A1–A3. Including the unexpected risk events changed the probability of a positive net present value for the analysed alternatives in the decision model and the alternative that is likely to have the highest net present value. The magnitude of the effect of unexpected risk events is dependent on the local preconditions in the drinking water system. For the first drinking water system, the unexpected risk events increase risk to a lesser extent compared to the second drinking water system. The main conclusion was that it is important to include unexpected risk events in decision models for evaluating microbial risk reduction, especially in a drinking water system with a low base load and a low pathogen log10 reduction in the drinking water treatment plant

Removal of inorganic As5+ from a small drinking water system

The drinking water from a small drinking water system contained arsenic in a concentration of about 50 ▫$mu$▫g/L. Chemical analyses showed that the pentavalent form of arsenic was present. Since the MCL value is 10 ▫$mu$▫g/L, it was necessary to implement a technological treatment to make the water suitable for drinking. In order to do so, two technologies were suggested: activated alumina and ▫$alpha$▫-FeOOH (TehnoArz, TA) adsorption media. Experiments using both adsorption media were performed on a laboratory scale. It was possible to remove arsenic to below 1 ▫$mu$▫g/L. The maximal adsorption capacity was found to be 12.7 mg of As5+ per gram of ▫$alpha$▫-FeOOH. Moreover, all the important physico- chemical parameters of the water remained practically unchanged after the treatment. Only a slight release of iron from the media was observed. The Fe-As bond was studied by means of chemical analysis and X-ray powder diffraction. Finally, in addition to showing the capability of arsenic removalby ▫$alpha$▫-FeOOH, a comprehensive optimization of the technological parameters of the selected technology is provided

Fouling of a drinking water system in relation to hydraulic circumstances and customer complaints

In a “perfect” drinking water system, the water quality for the consumers should be the same as the quality of the water leaving the treatment plant. However, some variability along the system can lead to a decrease in water quality (such as discolouration) which is usually reflected in the number of the customer complaints. This change may be related to the amount of sediment in the distribution network, leading to an increase in turbidity at the water supply. Since there is no such thing as a perfect drinking water system, the behaviour of particles in a drinking water network needs a suitable approach in order to understand how it works. Moreover, the combination of measurements, such as turbidity patterns and the Resuspension Potential Method (RPM) aid in the prevention of discoloured water complaints and intervention in the treatment upgrade or the network cleaning. Besides sediments there is also bacterial regrowth in the network, which is related to the water quality and distribution network characteristics. In a theoretical drinking water system higher velocities, temperature and shorter residences times lead to wider bacterial growth. In this study we observe velocity and residence steady-states and bacterial does not seem to be related to either. It can be concluded that adequate measurements of RPM, customer complaints and bacterial concentrations allow a wider knowledge on particle behaviour in drinking water systems

Investigation of thermal regimes of lakes used for water supply and examination of drinking water system in Kotzebue, Alaska

Thesis (M.S.) University of Alaska Fairbanks, 2012Many villages in Arctic Alaska rely on lakes for water supply, such as the Alaskan City of Kotzebue, and these lakes may be sensitive to climate variability and change, particularly thermal regimes and corresponding effects on water quality. Thus, I initiated a study of water supply lakes in Kotzebue to collect data for developing a model to hindcast summer thermal regimes. Surface (Tws) and bed (Twb) temperature data collected from two water supply lakes and two control lakes from June 22nd-August 28th 2011 showed a similar pattern in relation to air temperature (Ta) and solar radiation with more frequent stratification in the deeper lakes. The average Tws for all lakes during this period was 14.5°C, which was 3.4°C higher than Ta for the same period. I modeled Tws from 1985 to 2010 using Ta, and theoretical clear-sky solar radiation (TCSR) to analyze interannual variability, trends, and provide a baseline dataset. Similar to patterns in Ta for this period, I found no trend in mean Tws for the main lake used for water supply (Devil's Lake), but considerable variation ranging from 12.2°C in 2000 to 19.2°C in 2004. My analysis suggests that 44% of years during this 25 year period maximum daily Tws surpassed 20°C for at least one day. This hindcasted dataset can provide water supply managers in Kotzebue and other Arctic villages with a record of past conditions and a model for how lakes may respond to future climate change and variability that could impact water quality

Analysis and control of biofilms in a model drinking water system

Master'sMASTER OF ENGINEERIN

Establishing a metagenomic workflow for eukaryotic analysis in drinking water system

The analysis of metagenomic short-reads derived from drinking water systems has traditionally focused on the study of prokaryotes (i.e., bacteria and archaea) neglecting the presence of eukaryotes, even though such (micro)-organisms can have an impact on water quality. This limitation stems from the fact that traditional prokaryotic-centric bioinformatic tools are not suited for eukaryotic genomes due to their higher complexity and typically lower abundance in comparison with prokaryotes. Noticeably, while established bioinformatic pipelines exist for the analysis of prokaryotic-derived genomes, only recently researchers have started to develop tools suitable for the identification and subsequent analysis of eukaryotic populations in mixed communities; for this reason, there is currently no validated and widely accepted bioinformatic workflow for analyses of eukaryotes in metagenomes. In this study we propose a workflow tailored for the identification and analysis of eukaryotic genomes derived from metagenomic drinking water system surveys by comparing the performances of several tools for the identification of eukaryotic contigs, contigs binning, and gene prediction on both synthetically generated metagenomes and a representative drinking water system case study, consisting of samples collected for over 6 months. Our findings indicate that the performance of eukaryotic-centric tools differs between the analysis of real-world and synthetic data. However, an ensemble approach involving the combination of reference-dependent and reference-independent tools was found to be beneficial for the eukaryotic identification and analysis and was included in the workflow. For example, several k-mer-based (i.e., EukRep, Tiara, Whokaryote) and a reference-based (i.e., CAT) contigs classifiers were selected for the identification of eukaryotic contigs, leveraging the benefits of both approaches. Overall, the workflow proposed in this study will enable a more systematic metagenomic characterization of eukaryotic populations in the drinking water microbiome and thus help to better understand their ecological role in drinking water systems

Session 1: Water Research: Impacting the Lives of Kentuckians

Investigation and Remediation of an Urban Karst Groundwater Gasoline Leak at Lost River Cave, Bowling Green, Kentucky Spatial and Seasonal Variation in Concentrations of Disinfection Byproducts in the Public Drinking Water System of Martin County, Kentucky Farmer to Farmer: Virtual Shop Talks Solutions Begin with Understanding: Off-the-Grid Communities and Contaminated Karst Groundwater in Southcentral Kentucky

The Effects of Orthophosphate as a Copper Corrosion Control Inhibitor in High Alkalinity Drinking Water Systems

The purpose of this research was to investigate orthophosphate as a corrosion inhibitor for copper pipe in a high-alkalinity drinking water system. Specifically, this thesis sought to answer three research questions regarding the impact of orthophosphate treatment, the nature of the mechanism by which orthophosphate controls copper corrosion, and the value of equilibrium modeling in predicting orthophosphate’s effects. The research questions were answered through a comprehensive literature review and experimental methodology integrating laboratory jar tests, water sampling and analysis from a field investigation, qualitative solids analysis, and equilibrium model application. This study analyzed field data obtained over the course of a year from a high alkalinity water system into which orthophosphate was added to control copper concentrations. This field research generally supports results previously reported in the literature: in high alkalinity, neutral pH water, a dosage of 3 – 4 mg/L orthophosphate can reduce copper levels in a drinking water system from over 2 mg/L to below the 1.3 mg/L USEPA action level. While surface solid analysis did not provide conclusive evidence confirming the nature of orthophosphate’s control mechanisms, jar tests and equilibrium solubility models were demonstrated to provide useful quantitative predictions of how orthophosphate reduces copper concentrations in various waters

Risk-based cost-benefit analysis for evaluating microbial risk mitigation in a drinking water system

Waterborne outbreaks of gastrointestinal diseases can cause large costs to society. Risk management needs to be holistic and transparent in order to reduce these risks in an effective manner. Microbial risk mitigation measures in a drinking water system were investigated using a novel approach combining probabilistic risk assessment and cost-benefit analysis. Lake Vomb in Sweden was used to exemplify and illustrate the risk-based decision model. Four mitigation alternatives were compared, where the first three alternatives, A1-A3, represented connecting 25, 50 and 75%, respectively, of on-site wastewater treatment systems in the catchment to the municipal wastewater treatment plant. The fourth alternative, A4, represented installing a UV-disinfection unit in the drinking water treatment plant. Quantitative microbial risk assessment was used to estimate the positive health effects in terms of quality adjusted life years (QALYs), resulting from the four mitigation alternatives. The health benefits were monetised using a unit cost per QALY. For each mitigation alternative, the net present value of health and environmental benefits and investment, maintenance and running costs was calculated. The results showed that only A4 can reduce the risk (probability of infection) below the World Health Organization guidelines of 10−4 infections per person per year (looking at the 95th percentile). Furthermore, all alternatives resulted in a negative net present value. However, the net present value would be positive (looking at the 50th percentile using a 1% discount rate) if non-monetised benefits (e.g. increased property value divided evenly over the studied time horizon and reduced microbial risks posed to animals), estimated at 800–1200 SEK (€100–150) per connected on-site wastewater treatment system per year, were included. This risk-based decision model creates a robust and transparent decision support tool. It is flexible enough to be tailored and applied to local settings of drinking water systems. The model provides a clear and holistic structure for decisions related to microbial risk mitigation. To improve the decision model, we suggest to further develop the valuation and monetisation of health effects and to refine the propagation of uncertainties and variabilities between the included methods