WATER INDUSTRY FEATURES, INSIGHTS, AND ANALYSIS
-
What Is The Future Of Source Water Protection? Water utility managers and municipal leaders have long struggled amid the convergence of several threats to public water supplies. During a recent Water Online Live event, I sat with a panel of industry experts to examine the transition from reactive crisis management to a proactive, adaptive resilience framework.
-
Drinking Water Contaminated With 'Forever Chemicals' During Pregnancy Linked To An Increased Risk Of Childhood Asthma
While most of us are routinely exposed to low levels of PFAS, some communities are exposed to far higher levels from nearby pollution sources. A new study shows that in one of these at-risk communities, children were more likely to develop asthma if their mothers were exposed to very high PFAS levels during pregnancy.
-
The Pragmatic Shift In Source Water Protection: Moving From Symptom Management To Root-Cause Accountability A shift in how we approach source water protection is long overdue. Currently, we are trapped in a cycle of escalating costs, forced to treat symptoms like algae and invasive weeds expediently with chemicals while the underlying risk in the reservoir compounds. True risk management requires breaking this cycle.
-
The AWWA Said $2.4 Trillion. It Missed The Compound Interest. Einstein once said of compound interest, "He who understands it, earns it. He who doesn't, pays it." The same logic of compounding applies to the organic sediment accumulating on the floor of your drinking water reservoir. The longer you wait to address it, the more exponentially expensive it becomes to fix.
-
Designing Resilient PFAS Treatment Strategies For Water Agencies Water agencies across the U.S. are facing a rapidly evolving regulatory landscape for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) that poses a conundrum: Should they take a cautious or aggressive approach to treating PFAS contamination in their water system?
-
The Future Of In Situ Chemical Oxidation For Targeted Solvent Destruction
The U.S. EPA’s 2026 trichloroethylene (TCE) compliance deadlines are now forcing a concrete shift toward source-zone destruction. In situ chemical oxidation (ISCO), sequenced with enhanced bioremediation, is proving to be the most credible path to groundwater contaminant rebound mitigation.
-
When Drinking Water Raises Bigger Questions About Brain Health And Environmental Risk
A new study linking certain groundwater sources to higher Parkinson’s risk underscores a broader question for the water sector: how environmental exposures in drinking water may influence long-term health.
-
EPA Seeks Court‑Ordered Removal Of 4 PFAS Limits The U.S. EPA is testing a new procedural strategy to remove four PFAS drinking‑water limits from ongoing litigation, asking the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals to invalidate those limits on the grounds that the EPA itself committed a procedural misstep when issuing the 2024 PFAS rule.
-
Putting The National Toxicology Program's Fluoride Review In Context Despite renewed public concern over fluoride and cognition, the National Toxicology Program’s findings focus on high‑fluoride groundwater conditions — not the controlled levels used in U.S. drinking water systems. Understanding that distinction is critical for utilities navigating policy questions and community expectations.
-
Opinion: Why PFAS Policymakers Should Read Past The Abstract When it comes to drinking water, sound public policy requires sound scientific research. Publication in a prestigious, peer-reviewed journal helps establish legitimacy for scientific claims in public discourse. But science is a social process, scientific standards of evidence vary across disciplines, and peer review does not guarantee validity. For readers who stop at the abstract, these distinctions can be easy to miss.
VIEWS ON THE LATEST REGS
-
Despite renewed public concern over fluoride and cognition, the National Toxicology Program’s findings focus on high‑fluoride groundwater conditions — not the controlled levels used in U.S. drinking water systems. Understanding that distinction is critical for utilities navigating policy questions and community expectations.
-
In this Q&A, Dr. Elke Süss of Metrohm addresses the urgent need for haloacetic acid testing in response to “one of the most significant updates to EU drinking water monitoring in recent years.”
-
With the U.S. EPA's PFAS rules now in place, utilities are finding themselves with a growing number of questions regarding how to treat these chemicals, the potential costs, and much more. For answers, Water Online's chief editor, Kevin Westerling, hosted an Ask Me Anything session featuring Ken Sansone, Senior Partner at SL Environmental Law Group; Kyle Thompson, National PFAS Lead at Carollo Engineers; and Lauren Weinrich, Principal Scientist at American Water.
-
A Q&A to explain and resolve issues confronting water suppliers as they endeavor to comply with the monitoring requirements of federal PFAS regulations.
-
Assessing what lies ahead in the 10-year race to go lead-free, otherwise known as the Lead and Copper Rule Improvements (LCRI).
MORE WATER INDUSTRY FEATURES
-
For most water utilities, master and production meters represent the system's financial and operational truth. These meters quantify the volume of water entering the distribution network, support water accountability programs, validate NRW calculations, and influence everything from treatment costs to rate structures.
-
As water scarcity and energy costs rise, new ultrafiltration membrane technologies deliver higher flux, longer lifespan, and reduced fouling—turning water treatment from a compliance task into an efficiency opportunity.
-
Sterilization validation is vital in pharma and medical device manufacturing to ensure product safety and regulatory compliance. Explore essential principles, best practices, and frameworks for effective implementation.
-
What's really at stake when choosing between surface water and groundwater? The answer shapes water security for decades.
-
Learn how scanners used for high resolution metrology measurements should be designed and tested for flatness of motion, particularly for atomic force microscopy (AFM).
-
Single-future design assumptions are no longer sufficient. See what scenario modelling reveals about building treatment infrastructure that performs across decades of uncertainty.
-
Microbial testing of environmental water demands efficient, contamination‑resistant workflows. Discover a membrane filtration technique that offers rapid, reliable colony isolation.
-
Accurate dechlorination control requires monitoring all residual oxidants that threaten membrane integrity. Total chlorine analysis provides the necessary precision at ultra-low levels, ensuring comprehensive protection against oxidative damage while maintaining reagent stability during intermittent system operations.
-
Learn how real-time monitoring with PAT enhances process control, shortens development timelines, and supports the shift toward continuous manufacturing in biopharmaceutical production.
-
Robotics innovation demands precise motion, robust connectivity, and efficient power. Discover how integrated connectivity, sensing, and power management solutions enable smarter, scalable, next-generation robotic systems.
-
Despite growing sustainability efforts, our industry lags in climate goals, especially Scope 3 emissions. Discover why bold action and deep collaboration across the value chain are essential for real progress.
-
Nanobubble physics enable higher ozone stability and mass transfer efficiency in water. Discover how the negative surface charge of these microstructures improves localized oxidation and penetration into difficult matrices.
-
A tailored LC–MS approach enables sensitive detection and tracking of monoclonal antibody variants, supporting deeper product characterization and better control of quality‑impacting changes.
-
Climate change is expanding source water variability beyond historical limits, forcing treatment plants to design for wider conditions—and making digital planning essential for resilient infrastructure decisions.
-
Master the fundamentals of identifying and monitoring process-related impurities. Ensure biologic safety and regulatory success by optimizing your analytical strategy.
-
This article isn’t about the theoretical benefits of MBR technology. It’s about what actually impacts day-to-day MBR operation—and what makes an MBR plant feel intuitive, stable, and predictable… or frustratingly complex.
-
Learn about a novel solution dramatically improving the purification and yield of promising nanoscale vesicles for medical applications.
-
Learn why the U.S. EPA has recognized granular activated carbon (GAC) as a best available technology (BAT) for a wide range of substances within the same system.