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

WATER INDUSTRY FEATURES, INSIGHTS, AND ANALYSIS

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.
How Donner Summit PUD Cut Backwash Water Use By 45% With Ultrasonic Algae Control
Recurring algal blooms severely compromise water treatment efficiency, clogging filters and wasting finished water through frequent backwashing. Targeted ultrasonic suppression controls raw water algae growth at the source, significantly improving influent turbidity and lowering operational costs.
SRP-Funded Technology Provides Affordable PFAS Testing For Homeowners
Widespread chemical contamination leaves many small water systems without viable testing options.Discover how an innovative, plant-based extraction method delivers affordable, highly accurate screening to identify complex contaminants and protect public health.
The Enzyme Bottleneck: Why Conventional Lake Management Is Failing — And What The Science Says About Genuine Bio-Dredging For decades, the dominant framework for assessing and managing lake health has been built around surface water measurements: chlorophyll-a, total phosphorus, water clarity, and the composite Trophic State Index derived from them. These metrics are familiar, standardized, and widely accepted. They are also, according to a growing body of peer-reviewed literature, measuring the wrong part of the lake.
Ozone Off-Gas: What It Reveals About System Efficiency, Safety, and Design
Learn how ozone off-gas impacts system efficiency, safety, and performance, and why monitoring and management are critical for optimized water treatment operations.
UK Reservoirs, Water Shortages, And Legionella Risks Is there a clear link between a less plentiful water supply and an increase in Legionella in our domestic water systems?

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Reducing And Reusing Water In Steel Manufacturing

The art of manufacturing steel for industries is well over 100 years old. Within this time, the steel business has fulfilled consumer needs, including construction, transportation, and manufacturing. The steel manufacturing process is quite intensive as it requires a lot of water to cool down the application. Steel plants constantly look for strategies that can help sustain the steel for a longer time by efficiently improving water and energy consumption.

Emerging Pollutants: The Role Of Activated Carbons

The presence of active pharmaceutical ingredients, radio-opaque substances and endocrine disrupting chemicals in raw water sources is a relatively new emerging issue in relation to drinking water quality. However, the influence of pollutants on health and general well-being is becoming apparent with the incidence of carcinoma increasing and fertility rates being affected. A solution for the efficient removal of these substances from water use by production sites is required.

UV Technology Offers Solution For Emerging Water Crisis

Many are turning to UV as an effective barrier to enable the reuse of wastewater, for indirect reuse, and aquifer recharge.

Turbidity Filtration: Turbidity Filtration Using Alum

Electromedia® V effectively filters turbid waters at 10 g.p.m. per sq. ft. to produce treated waters having turbidities less than 0.2 NTU

Ion Exchange Resins Reduce Pollution From Refineries

A single operational oil and gas refinery produces millions of gallons of contaminated wastewater a year, leading to environmental pollution concerns. Ion exchange resins are a metal- and ion-removal solution to help clean this wastewater for plant reuse or safe disposal. This application guide explains how resins can be used to demineralize refinery water in process, boiler, and cooling water applications.

ReFleX™ Efficiency

For both disinfection and TOC-reduction applications, NeoTech Aqua Solutions’ patented ReFleX™ UV chamber technology represents the state-of-the-art in high-efficiency UV systems by reflecting over 99% of the UV we generate back into the water.

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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.

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Converging Challenges, Unified Solutions: How Three Overlapping Trends Are Shaping Public Water

With the right help, coping with workforce upheaval, the digital transition, and asset management can be an opportunity.
Why Industrial Pretreatment Programs Are Drowning In Administration, And What Modern Technology Can Do About It

Evaluating industrial discharge data manually consumes valuable staff time and increases risk. Automated sampling ingestion flags limit violations instantly, streamlining enforcement, reducing administrative strain, and keeping municipal wastewater treatment infrastructure protected.
Florida Utility Saves 2,080 Man-Hours With Just 5 Sensors

Continuous water quality monitoring helps utilities offset workforce shortages, reclaim thousands of labor hours, improve compliance, and gain real-time insights that enhance system performance and reliability.
The Site's Guide To Recovering Clinical Technology Costs From Sponsors

Gain sponsor approval by positioning technology as key to streamlined workflows, compliance, and patient safety — reducing risk and improving collaboration. Explore strategies now.
Wideband RF In Electronic Warfare: Balancing Power, Bandwidth And Real-Time Performance

Modern electronic warfare demands wideband RF systems that balance gain, linearity, efficiency, and power—enabling real-time detection, response, and reliable performance across an increasingly complex spectrum.
PFAS Pilots: Strategic Planning To Reduce Risk And Optimize Costs

Learn why piloting PFAS treatment is essential to reduce risk, optimize costs, and ensure compliance—plus the seven key steps to design a pilot that delivers reliable, real-world results.
How High-Performing Trials Operationalize Health Equity Early

Explore how embedding inclusion early in clinical development enhances enrollment, strengthens data integrity, and improves outcomes, especially in oncology and rare disease trials.
Advanced Wastewater Treatment Solutions For Industry And Municipalities

This resource will help you navigate the complexities of industrial and municipal wastewater treatment, understand the latest technology, and see how Aria Filtra® technology addresses the needs of modern wastewater management.
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.
Case Study: Groundwater DWTP (AK) - DEXSORB Full-Scale

A DWTP client in Alaska detected elevated PFAS contamination levels in two groundwater wells supplying drinking water to 85 service connections. PFAS concentrations are provided in Table 1, where combined concentration of EPA PFAS6 was detected at 490 to 810 ppt.
Ozone And PFAS: The Overlooked Tool In A National Water Crisis

Ozone is a vital pre-treatment for PFAS mitigation. It oxidizes precursors and co-contaminants, significantly extending the service life of downstream GAC and membrane systems.
Decontamination Of Aseptic Pharmaceutical Isolators Using Vaporized And Aerosolized Hydrogen Peroxide

Aerosolized hydrogen peroxide decontamination cuts isolator cycle times from 70 to 15 minutes while drastically reducing biocide and overall energy usage.
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.
Bayesian Study Designs In Early-Phase Oncology Trials

In response to insufficient traditional dose-escalation methods, regulatory initiatives like the FDA’s Project Optimus advocate for identifying optimal biological doses rather than relying solely on maximum tolerated doses (MTD).

Controlling mAb Aggregates In Chromatography Process Development

Antibody aggregation remains a critical downstream challenge, particularly for complex modalities. Explore why aggregates form, why they matter, and how chromatographic strategies can help reduce risk.
Timing And Data Are Critical To Winning BTD For Rare Disease Drugs

Breakthrough Therapy designation (BTD) can accelerate rare disease drug development—but timing and evidence are everything. Learn how to position your program for FDA success.
Optimising Coagulation And Flocculation Systems In Surface Water Facilities

Coagulation and flocculation remain essential but increasingly sensitive processes, requiring flexible design and real-time optimisation to maintain performance across widening source water variability.
Improving API Solubility With Mesoporous Silica

Poor solubility of active pharmaceutical ingredients can hinder drug effectiveness. Learn how innovative formulation strategies enhance solubility and bioavailability to improve therapeutic outcomes for challenging drug candidates.

WATER INDUSTRY FEATURES, INSIGHTS, AND ANALYSIS

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