Water Regulations Change As Data Accuracy Intensifies

It makes sense that water regulations are written in line with the available means to detect contaminants. The same logic would suggest that as newer, more accurate diagnostic technologies become available, the list of MCLs and the depth of water regulations will continue to evolve.

As Rick Bacon, CEO of Aqua Metrology Systems explains in this Water Online Radio interview, “Regulators have come to realize that once a quarter readings from a lab don’t give you a real indication of what’s going on in a water system.” Bacon also suggests that consumers are becoming increasingly uncomfortable in getting a water report a quarter after they drank their water. As Bacon says, “You’ve got a consumer push, a technology push and a regulatory push.”

To illustrate what’s now possible, Bacon discusses a California project on Chromium 6 monitoring. Instead of the engineers waiting for two weeks to get a result back, Aqua Metrology’s online instrumentation is delivering results in two minutes, allowing the engineers to run simulations much more quickly and compressing the project from six months to a month.

To learn more about the cost-savings plants can realize based on the real-time monitoring of chromium 6, selenium, disinfection byproducts and a host of other constituents, listen here: