WATER INDUSTRY FEATURES, INSIGHTS, AND ANALYSIS
-
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.
-
When Chemistry Meets Water Innovation
Nobel-winning molecular materials are poised to reinvent purification, desalination, and reuse.
-
Solving The World's Microplastics Problem: 4 Solutions Cities And States Are Trying After Global Treaty Talks Collapsed
Microplastics seem to be everywhere — in the air we breathe, the water we drink, the food we eat. Countries have tried for the past few years to write a global plastics treaty that might reduce human exposure, but the latest negotiations collapsed in August 2025. While U.S. and global solutions seem far off, policies to limit harm from microplastics are gaining traction at the state and local levels.
-
AEC System Proven Effective For Chloride Removal
In two bench-scale tests, a new technology effectively removed up to 99% of chlorides and 97% of total dissolved solids in a single pass. This solution offers a commercially viable alternative to traditional treatment methods.
-
Common Misconceptions Are Keeping Lakes "Sick"
Long-held misconceptions about lake management fuel the intensity and recurrence of harmful algal blooms.
-
Colorado's Subalpine Wetlands May Be Producing A Toxic Form Of Mercury — That's A Concern For Downstream Water Supplies
The wetlands found across the Rocky Mountains of Colorado just below tree line are crucial for regulating the supply of clean water from the highlands to metropolitan regions downslope, including Denver. However, new research shows the wetlands also harbor a health risk.
VIEWS ON THE LATEST REGS
-
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).
-
Many water systems are still tackling the challenge of identifying and compliantly managing galvanized and galvanized-requiring-replacement (GRR) service lines.
-
In the most recent edition of Water Innovations, there is not a single article focused on PFAS. That wouldn't be exceptional if not for the fact that discussion around per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances has so thoroughly dominated the water space lately. And yet, I penned this as an intro to the edition — just "a tiny bit of PFAS" content — because a small portion of PFAS is of the utmost importance in terms of treatment, policy, and cost.
MORE WATER INDUSTRY FEATURES
-
Despite electrocoagulation's demonstrated effectiveness, developing a reliable, low maintenance reactor with sufficient water processing volume has proven to be a significant engineering challenge.
-
Learn how scanners used for high resolution metrology measurements should be designed and tested for flatness of motion, particularly for atomic force microscopy (AFM).
-
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.
-
Discover how Pentair partnered with one Illinois County and an engineering design firm to build a cutting-edge wastewater treatment plant.
-
With the LCRR deadline fast approaching and over 59% of its service lines unverified, Martin County recognized the significant work ahead in preparing to meet the LCRR requirements. The county needed to establish a clear strategy for its compliance program, and to support this effort, it needed an engineering consulting partner with extensive expertise in LCRR.
-
Producing high-quality oligonucleotides demands precise execution across multiple stages. Gain a clearer understanding of the complete mid-scale production workflow and necessary quality control measures.
-
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.
-
The Big Sky district in Montana, spanning 228 square miles and serving approximately 2,600 customers, has been grappling with the challenge of increasing summer water demand for irrigation.
-
In alignment with the recent federal initiatives, Birchtech’s RSSCT Analysis Design Center provides a practical, cost-efficient solution for utilities to enhance PFAS detection.
-
Learn how to separate molecules strictly by size, effectively remove salts, and select the correct pore specifications for a gentle, non-destructive purification workflow.
-
The City of Hot Springs, Arkansas knows the challenges of dealing with aging infrastructure well. The city’s 143-year-old system covers 923 miles of water mains in rocky terrain, making it difficult to detect leaks. That is why the utility’s water department decided to act.
-
As part of Greece’s post-pandemic National Recovery and Resilience Plan, the government is prioritizing sustainable water and waste management alongside energy reform and digital modernization.
-
For private utility owners and operators, legacy infrastructure isn’t a sunk cost. It’s an opportunity. And with the right retrofit strategy, that aging wastewater treatment facility can become a stable, revenue-generating asset.
-
As public awareness of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) grows, so too does concern over their widespread presence in our water, soil, food, and even our bodies. Rapid, on-site, or remotely operated detection of these “forever chemicals” is a crucial step to understanding the levels of PFAS within our systems.
-
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.
-
Explore a validated LC-MS/MS method for precise Semaglutide quantification in plasma, which features enhanced sensitivity, peak definition, and reproducibility using innovative technologies.
-
Learn why GAC alone may fall short in PFAS treatment—and how utilities can future-proof performance with multi-barrier strategies that tackle short-chain compounds, regulatory shifts, and rising operational risks.
-
Contrary to concerns about price erosion, new analysis suggests Joint Clinical Assessment and Project Orbis will likely increase European oncology product revenue by enabling faster market uptake.