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

WATER INDUSTRY FEATURES, INSIGHTS, AND ANALYSIS

Tackling Lake Erie's Algal Blooms Requires Targeted Conservation Strategies
Algal blooms in Lake Erie remind us how closely food production and clean water are connected. Many of these nutrients come from nearby farms, and the challenge is keeping them out of waterways.
After The Fire: What The 2026 Wildfires And El Niño Could Mean For U.S. Lakes And Reservoirs In 2027
In July, smoke from Canadian wildfires spread across the upper Midwest and Northeast. Now a strengthening El Niño is set to influence the coming winter. Both events matter to lake and reservoir managers because their effects on water quality will continue to emerge long after the skies clear or the El Niño passes.
Minneapolis Flexes Its Mussels For Source Water Monitoring Solution
Protecting municipal drinking water requires rapid visibility into changing surface source conditions. Discover how combining biological indicators with continuous inline spectrometry delivers real-time contamination alerts, preventing costly treatment plant shutdowns and safeguarding consumer health.
DEXSORB® Treatment At Groundwater Pump Station
Discover how upgrading existing filter infrastructure with advanced adsorbent media provided over 600 days of continuous PFAS removal, treating millions of gallons of contaminated groundwater to achieve strict drinking water compliance.
DEXSORB® Treatment Of Surface Water For Gravity System
Discover how a dual-vessel lead-lag media system achieved continuous non-detect levels for target legacy contaminants, treating over 250,000 gallons of surface water to support regulatory compliance and municipal drinking water goals.
Pretreatment Systems Enable Complete And More Economical PFAS Solutions For operators looking to optimize their PFAS removal systems, controlling the presence of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) offers an approach to minimizing operational costs due to granular activated carbon (GAC) reactivation and ion exchange media change-out.
What Utilities Don't Know About GAC Reuse For PFAS For utilities building PFAS treatment systems, thermal reactivation of spent granular activated carbon (GAC) may sound like the obvious answer. However, service provider availability and location, specific media acceptance criteria including quantity thresholds, restrictions on GAC type and condition, and regulatory uncertainty can all determine whether reuse is a viable option.
PFAS Funding Is Flowing — But Does The Water Sector Have Enough People To Deliver It? For several years, the PFAS conversation has centered on treatment options, testing, and funding. Those factors still matter, but they are no longer the primary constraint. Most utilities already understand the treatment routes available to them; the real challenge now is moving from technical possibility to operational performance, and that depends entirely on people.
The Cost Of Waiting: Utilities Face A Narrowing PFAS Compliance Window For years, the water industry's PFAS conversation centered on monitoring, testing, and regulatory anticipation. Today, that phase is largely over.
D.C. Circuit Upholds EPA's Hazardous Substance Designation For PFOA, PFOS
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit recently rejected industry challenges to the EPA's designation of PFOA and PFOS as hazardous substances under CERCLA, leaving the agency's April 2024 rule fully intact. While the case centered on the EPA's authority to make the designation, its practical significance for water utilities is simpler: the liability concerns that have accompanied the rule since its adoption remain unresolved.

DRINKING WATER PRODUCTS

BioBarrier® Membrane BioReactor (MBR) & HSMBR

Bio-Microbics introduces a new generation of wastewater treatment solutions, the BioBarrier® HSMBR® (High Strength Membrane Bioreactor), to help meet the increasingly stringent needs of specialized applications. The membranes and processes used in this advanced system act as an impenetrable physical barrier for nearly all common pollutants found in wastewater today. The advanced technology offers the highest quality effluent possible on the market. The BioBarrier® MBR was the first system to be approved for water reuse (NSF/ANSI Std 350, class R) by the NSF (National Sanitation Foundation) International.

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.

Toray RO Seawater RO Elements

Following 4”, 8” and 16” membranes can be used in multiple membrane systems to treat sea water or high salinity water > 10’000 ppm. The 4” membrane types can be used for small private or shipboard sea water desalination.

OPUS® II Technology - a New Innovation for High Recovery of Water for Reuse

OPUS® II is a proprietary process for high recovery of complex wastewater streams. This new innovation uses CeraMem® ceramic membranes as pretreatment for reverse osmosis to reduce the system footprint. OPUS II can be delivered in modular, containerized units to minimize installation costs.

Like the original OPUS technology, OPUS II effectively removes silica, organics, hardness, boron, strontium and particulates. It generates high quality effluent at a high recovery rate, providing clean water for discharge, recycle or reuse.

Ozone Destruction System

NeoTech Aqua Solutions’ line of 254 nm wavelength low-pressure lamps effectively destroys residual ozone and a member of our technical staff will professionally size your UV system.

Potable Water Storage Unit: MSU-40

Minimize potable water hauling costs with modular onsite storage units from newterra – the leader in advanced camp water solutions.

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What Utilities Should Know About School Lead Data

The Cost Of Waiting: Utilities Face A Narrowing PFAS Compliance Window

For years, the water industry's PFAS conversation centered on monitoring, testing, and regulatory anticipation. Today, that phase is largely over.
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.
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.

MORE WATER INDUSTRY FEATURES

Taking The Lead On Ditching Lead

AWWA C800, Underground Service Line Valves and Fittings, was built around the use of one brass alloy, C83600, also known as leaded red brass, favored for its manufacturability and low cost. Over the last two decades, the waterworks industry has transitioned to brass alloys that meet the definition of lead-free for most surfaces contacting potable water.
The Active Control Program For Advanced UV Oxidation

This application note will explore how active control programs lower operational costs of compliant contaminant removal.
Designing And Evaluating A Water Treatment Media Pilot

Evaluating the use of activated carbon and other media for water treatment is a crucial step to ensure project goals are achieved.
Overcoming Excipient Risks And Challenges For Parenteral Formulations

Excipients are essential to parenteral formulations, which help protect APIs, enhance stability, and ensure safety. Learn how strategic excipient selection can optimize drug performance and patient outcomes.
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.
Tips For Navigating Tax Season As A 1099-MISC Recipient

Explore the tax implications for individuals who received compensation for participating in clinical trials, specifically focusing on the issuance of the 1099-MISC.
Smarter Cell Washing And Pre-Formulation For Allogeneic Therapies

Discover common pitfalls in cell washing and pre-formulation, including incomplete contaminant removal, manual handling, and throughput issues that compromise product quality and efficiency.
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.
Designing For What's Next: Futureproofing For PFAS

PFAS rules are shifting fast. Learn how utilities can futureproof treatment strategies with flexible designs, smart staging, and emerging technologies — avoiding stranded assets and staying ahead of tomorrow’s regulations.
Ozone Vs. UV-AOP: Choosing The Right Path For Advanced Water Treatment

Ozone and UV-AOP each offer powerful contaminant removal for drinking water, wastewater, and reuse applications. Their unique strengths—and potential synergy—help utilities meet diverse treatment goals efficiently.
Turbidity, What It Is And How It's Successfully Mitigated

This article will clarify the essential aspects of turbidity, how it can affect human health, and how best to measure and mitigate it.
Beyond Meter Reads: Leveraging Temetra For Enhanced Customer Engagement And Conservation

Las Vegas Valley Water District is modernizing conservation efforts with Temetra, using high-resolution meter data to detect leaks sooner, engage customers, and secure water resources amid extreme drought conditions.
That Color Isn't Right – What Went Wrong?

Chemical interferences during water testing can hide critical corrosion issues and fuel bacterial growth. Understanding colorimetric chemistry helps operators accurately identify testing anomalies, correct pH conditions, and protect cooling systems from bio-fouling.
Racibórz Waterworks Reduces Costs With Unified Enterprise SCADA

Unifying fragmented industrial control platforms streamlines operational oversight across municipal water networks. Standardized graphic displays and redundant architectures cut hardware overhead, simplify compliance reporting, and ensure continuous visibility during critical process shifts.

The New Imperative For Water Treatment: A Shift From Compliance To Efficiency

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.
Nitrosamines: Assessing The Risk To Pharma Products

Nitrosamines are a serious risk in drug products, driven by the presence of secondary amines, conducive conditions, and nitrosating agents. Understanding these factors is key to risk mitigation and patient safety.
UV Advanced Oxidation For Potable Reuse

Faced with rising water scarcity, advanced facilities are utilizing UV advanced oxidation to destroy persistent chemical micropollutants and achieve stringent pathogen disinfection in a single step, ensuring a highly pure, reliable potable water supply.
AEC PFAS Removal System Reduces PFAS Contamination In New Jersey

This case study demonstrates the effectiveness of a new technology for removing PFAS from well water to below the EPA’s detection limits.

WATER INDUSTRY FEATURES, INSIGHTS, AND ANALYSIS

DRINKING WATER PRODUCTS

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