WATER INDUSTRY FEATURES, INSIGHTS, AND ANALYSIS
-
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.
-
Grand Canyon's Dragon Bravo Megafire Shows The Growing Wildfire Threat To Water Systems
As wildfire crews battled the Dragon Bravo Fire on the Grand Canyon’s North Rim in July 2025, the air turned toxic. A chlorine gas leak had erupted from the park’s water treatment facility as the building burned, forcing firefighters to pull back. The water treatment facility is part of a system that draws water from a fragile spring. The fire also damaged some of the area’s water pipes and equipment.
-
What Are Legionella Log Books And Why Are They Important? Implementing and managing a Legionella control regime can sometimes seem daunting and complex. Invariably, a lot of resources, time, and effort are needed to achieve the required standard and provide assurance to senior management and auditors that controls are effective and those that are not are being managed and rectified appropriately.
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
-
Oxygen heterogeneity, caused by pressure variations and other factors in large-scale bioreactors, can significantly impact cell growth and product yield.
-
An optimized in vitro transcription (IVT) platform enables scalable, high-yield, and cost-efficient mRNA therapeutic production by leveraging data-driven process optimization and enzyme innovation to overcome key manufacturing challenges.
-
Learn how real-time monitoring with PAT enhances process control, shortens development timelines, and supports the shift toward continuous manufacturing in biopharmaceutical production.
-
Starting a new clinical study requires careful vendor selection and these practical, actionable steps to enhance your selection process and ensure long-term partnership alignment.
-
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.
-
Explore the technical hurdles of APOE-targeted development and the precision tools—including target proteins and pre-formed fibrils (PFFs)—required to bridge the gap from risk identification to commercial success.
-
Discover how Pentair partnered with one Illinois County and an engineering design firm to build a cutting-edge wastewater treatment plant.
-
Ensuring adequate solubility is crucial for small molecule drugs' effectiveness. Find out how poor solubility remains a significant challenge, potentially hindering medications from reaching the market.
-
In this article, we outline the sources, occurrence, known health issues, and mitigation options for specific contaminants.
-
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.
-
Regulators are increasingly favoring in vitro methods to prove bioequivalence, though differing guidelines and a new focus on matching reference product structures pose challenges.
-
Rising city populations, high consumption of resources, ageing infrastructure, climate change, complex Water Distribution Systems — these are but a few issues forcing those in city management to rethink their sustainability and efficiency efforts. Underlying each is the question of clean water management, and how water utilities can be empowered to make informed decisions in the face of the issues combined.
-
Read about how mixers help prevent stratification, maintain consistent disinfectant distribution, and reduce sediment buildup, thereby mitigating public health risks associated with water storage.
-
Flat-rate clinical trial payments are often taxable in the U.S., while reimbursements are not. Unclear tax rules can impact participant trust, site communication, and trial retention.
-
Discover how a structured, scalable approach to patient support can streamline trial operations, improve retention, and elevate the clinical experience for everyone involved.
-
Learn how a comprehensive investigation and systems-level bio-decontamination strategy successfully eliminated persistent mold contamination in a vaccine manufacturing facility's high-risk area.
-
Recent federal PFAS regulations will overwhelm consulting engineers, water and wastewater utilities, and equipment manufacturers as thousands of utilities work to comply. Generative design can enable these parties to meet the workload demand and deadlines.
-
Discover why ozone, a powerful oxidant and sanitizer, has become a leading solution for addressing water quality challenges.