Latest news, insights, and discussion on US and global drinking water regulations.

WATER INDUSTRY FEATURES, INSIGHTS, AND ANALYSIS

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.
Planting The Seeds Of Inspiration: Eelgrass Restoration
Restoring eelgrass beds is critical because they provide habitat for many kinds of marine life, improve water quality by filtering out pollution, and the plant’s root system stabilizes the sediment on the seafloor, protecting shorelines from erosion.
PFAS Are Turning Up In The Great Lakes, Putting Water Supplies At Risk — Here's How They Get There No matter where you live in the U.S., you have likely seen headlines about PFAS being detected in everything from drinking water to fish to milk to human bodies. Now, PFAS are posing a threat to the Great Lakes, one of America’s most vital water resources.
Why Too Much Phosphorus In America's Farmland Is Polluting The Country's Water When people think about agricultural pollution, they often picture what is easy to see: fertilizer spreaders crossing fields or muddy runoff after a heavy storm. However, a much more significant threat is quietly and invisibly building in the ground.
Water In 2026: The Nexus Of Policy, Technology, And Resilience As water systems become more circular and complex, understanding and managing the subsurface — the hidden half of the water cycle — is becoming a critical enabler of resilience. This article explores the key trends shaping this new reality, from tackling “forever chemicals” to the water strategies redefining heavy industry.
PFAS In Pregnant Women's Drinking Water Puts Their Babies At Higher Risk, Study Finds
When pregnant women drink water that comes from wells downstream of sites contaminated with PFAS, known as “forever chemicals,” the risks to their babies’ health substantially increase, a new study found. These risks include the chance of low birth weight, preterm birth, and infant mortality.
PFAS Settlements: Debunking The Myths And Revealing What's Really At Stake For Water Utilities Misinformation and confusion could prevent some utilities from benefitting from the aqueous film-forming foam multidistrict litigation (AFFF MDL) settlements. Here are five common myths about the AFFF MDL PFAS settlements and how public water systems can make the most of this unprecedented funding opportunity.

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PFAS Reference Materials

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are man-made chemicals that have been used in industry and consumer products worldwide since the 1950s.
PFAS can be found in:

SuperDisc™ Disc Filter

WesTech’s SuperDisc™ Disc Filter from Nordic Water is a Title 22 approved inside-out disc filter.The SuperDisc provides easy access for maintenance and has an efficient high pressure cleaning system. The small footprint and low head required for the filter provides an excellent option for tertiary retrofits, such as travelling bridge sand filters. The SuperDisc can produce reuse-quality effluent and total effluent phosphorus concentrations of less than 0.1 mg/L. Other applications include primary and secondary treatment, as well as a wide range of industrial applications. The SuperDisc filter is available as a freestanding unit with filter discs contained in a stainless steel tank and a version for installation in a concrete basin.

Desalination Of Sea Water

Desalination is the name given to processes that remove salt from water

NeoTech D238™

The NeoTech D238™ is specially designed to disinfect water and is an essential component in advanced oxidation processes.

PFAS HPLC Column

The new Ascentis® Express PFAS HPLC column, with its Fused-Core technology and a particle size of 2.7 μm, delivers fast and high-resolution separations with excellent selectivity, peak shape, and necessary retention to perform in EPA methods 537.1, 533 and 8327.

ETS-UV™ For Water Reuse

Given the critical shortage of drinking water in many regions, advanced treatment and reuse of wastewater is becoming increasingly common as municipalities address water demands and shrinking supplies.

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PFAS regulatory requirement-GettyImages-2220893562

EPA Seeks Court‑Ordered Removal Of 4 PFAS Limits

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.
HAAs In The EU: Monitoring For Haloacetic Acids Under The Drinking Water Directive

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.”
PFAS Unpacked: Experts Answer Questions On EPA Rules, Funding, Treatment, And More

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.
Monitoring Know-How For PFAS Regulations

A Q&A to explain and resolve issues confronting water suppliers as they endeavor to comply with the monitoring requirements of federal PFAS regulations.
Clearing LCRI Hurdles

Assessing what lies ahead in the 10-year race to go lead-free, otherwise known as the Lead and Copper Rule Improvements (LCRI).

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Key Considerations When Selecting A Laboratory Incubator

Choosing the right incubator requires more than reading specs. Learn how to evaluate performance metrics, contamination control, and real-world functionality to make confident equipment decisions.
AMERICAN And Partners Install Boltless Restrained Underwater Pipeline System In Ashland, Wisconsin

Beneath the waters of Chequamegon Bay on Lake Superior in Ashland, Wisconsin, about 4,500 feet of 24-inch AMERICAN Flex-Ring Ductile Iron Pipe and a submerged timber crib intake structure were installed to ensure the city’s residents have quality drinking water for the next 100 years. The Ashland Water Intake Project began May 1, 2025, and is now complete.
Preparing Water Infrastructure For The Future

The current state of the water infrastructure in the U.S. is in need of critical attention. Aging and underfunded systems, increasing demand, and the impacts of climate change are putting immense pressure on the nation’s ability to deliver this essential resource.
How Blast Freezing Affects The Quality Of Bottled Drug Substance: Test Results And Insights

Uneven ice formation during bottle freezing creates a "Volcano Effect," pushing solutes into highly concentrated zones. This test-based study explains this risk to drug substance quality.
Optimization And Scale-Up Of A Plasmid DNA Production Process

Optimizing pDNA production in E. coli requires strategic media selection and scale-up planning. Explore a study that identifies ideal conditions for high-yield manufacturing.
Size Matters: Mastering Size Exclusion For Oligos

Learn how to separate molecules strictly by size, effectively remove salts, and select the correct pore specifications for a gentle, non-destructive purification workflow.
5 Misconceptions About PFAS Removal Technologies

This article will explore five common misconceptions about GAC and IX technologies for PFAS removal, helping utilities choose effective, site-specific treatment strategies for contaminated drinking water.
Challenges In Ensuring Long-Term Water Quality (And How To Address Them)

Read about how mixers help prevent stratification, maintain consistent disinfectant distribution, and reduce sediment buildup, thereby mitigating public health risks associated with water storage.
Custom Tank Designs That Actively Manage PFAS Mass Transfer Zone (MTZ) — And Why It Matters More Than Ever

As utilities prepare for the pending 4-ppt PFAS drinking water MCL, many are discovering that legacy lead/lag designs—workhorses for decades when treating contaminants in the ppm and ppb range—simply are not optimized for the parts per trillion-level (ppt) precision PFAS demands.
Multi-Contaminant Removal With Granular Activated Carbon (GAC) In Drinking Water Filtration

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.
The Cost Of Not Using Ozone, A Lifecycle ROI Analysis For Water Treatment Systems

Focusing on lifecycle ROI reveals ozone's value. It significantly reduces chemical and operational costs while extending filter media life, providing measurable long-term financial savings and compliance resilience.
Analytics: A Referee For The Tug-Of-War Between MSC-EVs' Nature And Nurture

Like a referee in a contest, advanced analytical methods are essential to mediate the push and pull of different factors influencing therapeutic efficacy.
Clean Water Even During Disaster: Why U.S. Pipe Ductile Iron Pipe Is The Smart Choice For Public Health And Safety

Infrastructure must endure disasters to protect public health. Learn why ductile iron pipe offers fire resistance, seismic stability, and ensures clean, chemical-free water delivery when it is needed most.
Performance Test Services For UV Advanced Oxidation Systems

UV AOP performance verification requires a robust test matrix covering design, operating, and control conditions. This process includes on-site execution, sample analysis, and troubleshooting to achieve successful regulatory approval.

PHI And Medical Devices: What Device Manufacturers Need To Know

Connected medical devices must treat Protected Health Information (PHI) protection as integral to patient safety and compliance. Understand the data flows and HIPAA requirements to design security.
Charged For Action: The Hidden Secrets Of AEX Oligonucleotide Analysis

Understanding how to fine-tune pH and ionic strength allows for the detection of truncated sequences and single-nucleotide variants, turning complex purification challenges into reproducible data.
Test Kit Management: The Hidden Weak Point In Your Visual Inspection Program

A proper test kit management program is no longer a “nice-to-have”—it’s a compliance necessity. Without a structured system, you risk inspector drift, failed audits, and errors in batch release.
Back To Basics: Understanding Testing For Process-Related Impurities

Master the fundamentals of identifying and monitoring process-related impurities. Ensure biologic safety and regulatory success by optimizing your analytical strategy.

WATER INDUSTRY FEATURES, INSIGHTS, AND ANALYSIS

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