WATER INDUSTRY FEATURES, INSIGHTS, AND ANALYSIS

  • Cahaba River-GettyImages-2152826831
    What Is The Future Of Source Water Protection?

    Water utility managers and municipal leaders have long struggled amid the convergence of several threats to public water supplies. During a recent Water Online Live event, I sat with a panel of industry experts to examine the transition from reactive crisis management to a proactive, adaptive resilience framework.

  • pregnant_water-Getty-2207189112
    Drinking Water Contaminated With 'Forever Chemicals' During Pregnancy Linked To An Increased Risk Of Childhood Asthma

    While most of us are routinely exposed to low levels of PFAS, some communities are exposed to far higher levels from nearby pollution sources. A new study shows that in one of these at-risk communities, children were more likely to develop asthma if their mothers were exposed to very high PFAS levels during pregnancy.

  • wastewater ecological damage-GettyImages-2231956262
    The Pragmatic Shift In Source Water Protection: Moving From Symptom Management To Root-Cause Accountability A shift in how we approach source water protection is long overdue. Currently, we are trapped in a cycle of escalating costs, forced to treat symptoms like algae and invasive weeds expediently with chemicals while the underlying risk in the reservoir compounds. True risk management requires breaking this cycle.
  • River water pollution, Ecological-GettyImages-1215336784
    The AWWA Said $2.4 Trillion. It Missed The Compound Interest. Einstein once said of compound interest, "He who understands it, earns it. He who doesn't, pays it." The same logic of compounding applies to the organic sediment accumulating on the floor of your drinking water reservoir. The longer you wait to address it, the more exponentially expensive it becomes to fix.
  • Water droplets, PFAS, Forever chemical water contamination-GettyImages-2173433890
    Designing Resilient PFAS Treatment Strategies For Water Agencies Water agencies across the U.S. are facing a rapidly evolving regulatory landscape for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) that poses a conundrum: Should they take a cautious or aggressive approach to treating PFAS contamination in their water system?
  • Oil spill clean up-GettyImages-1369921282
    The Future Of In Situ Chemical Oxidation For Targeted Solvent Destruction

    The U.S. EPA’s 2026 trichloroethylene (TCE) compliance deadlines are now forcing a concrete shift toward source-zone destruction. In situ chemical oxidation (ISCO), sequenced with enhanced bioremediation, is proving to be the most credible path to groundwater contaminant rebound mitigation.

  • Water Drop with brain-GettyImages-481129858
    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.
  • PFAS regulatory requirement-GettyImages-2220893562
    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.
  • Perfluorooctanoic acid PFOA molecules-GettyImages-2179084012
    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.
  • regulation, compliance, risk management, guidelines-GettyImages-2253669656
    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.

DRINKING WATER PRODUCTS

Desalination Of Sea Water

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

GettyImages-1365695094 water in hands
Water Reuse: Solutions For Sustainability, Efficiency, And Resilient Water Systems

What is water reuse?

Water reuse is the process of treating and reclaiming water from various sources for practical purposes, including groundwater recharge, industrial applications, wetland restoration, agricultural irrigation, public access area uses, as well as drinking water applications. By reusing water, communities can reduce dependence on traditional water supplies, avoid costly imported water from 3rd party providers, and improve resilience in water systems. Thanks to progress in water treatment technology, along with economic and regulatory incentives, water recycling has become a cost-effective and sustainable solution to meet the growing demand for highly treated water and overcome supply shortages during droughts.

There are three primary types of water reuse: Indirect Potable Reuse (IPR), Direct Potable Reuse (DPR), and Non-Potable. In IPR reuse systems, advanced treated water is either injected into an environmental buffer (groundwater, river, or reservoir) before being extracted again for use, whereas DPR is directly blended into the drinking water treatment plant or distribution system. Non-potable water is not intended for human consumption and can be used for irrigation, industrial processes, laundry, or toilet flushing.

Advanced treatment technologies, such as membrane filtration, reverse osmosis, ultraviolet disinfection, ozonation, and advanced oxidation processes (AOP), play a crucial role in ensuring the quality and safety of reclaimed water.

Why reuse water? 

As water scarcity continues to rise, water reuse is an essential strategy for creating a more sustainable future. The use of recycled water reduces the demand for freshwater sources, which are becoming increasingly scarce due to population growth, climate change, and other factors.

Here are some key benefits of water reuse:

  • Safeguard quality and resilience: Reused water is purified well beyond drinking water standards, improving resilience and ensuring quality for both potable and even non-potable purposes.
  • Uphold safety: Treatment processes like ozone and ultraviolet light can be used to disinfect or break down complex contaminants, ensuring water is pathogen-free and concentrations are below maximum contaminant levels (MCL).
  • Ensure cost savings and efficiency: After treating a waste stream to discharge level, it may require less treatment to bring it to reuse standards, making reuse not only environmentally responsible but also cost-effective in many scenarios and locations.
  • Conserve traditional water supplies: By reusing water, we can lessen our reliance on conventional water resources like rivers, lakes, and aquifers, thereby conserving them for future generations.
  • Reduce carbon footprint: Water reclamation is often more efficient than treating a raw water resource, which can lessen environmental impact.
  • Enable versatility and customization: Advanced treatment systems are tailored to meet specific needs for a variety of sectors, including industrial, urban, agricultural, and public access area uses.

How to reuse water 

The major aim of every reuse project is to minimize human health risk associated with the use or consumption of reclaimed water. While the exact treatment requirements depend upon the source water quality and the reuse purpose, to be cost-effective, the treatment must be energy efficient and have a high-water yield.

An adequate treatment design plan depends on the application the water will be used in. In non-potable applications, normally filtration and disinfection will suffice, while potable reuse generally requires a combination of advanced treatment processes such as membrane filtration, reverse osmosis, disinfection, and/or advanced oxidation.

Xylem has brands and solutions to fit every stage of the water reuse process: 

  • beginning with the transport of raw sewage and wastewater with Xylem brands like Flygt
     
  • to secondary treatment to remove most dissolved and suspended organic matter and nutrients with brands like Sanitaire and Envirex
  • to tertiary stages that remove residual particulate matter, nutrients, TDS, and nematode eggs with brands like Leopold and Davco
  • along with disinfection and advanced oxidation that inactivates pathogens, and breaks down trace constituents and emerging contaminants of concern with brands like Wedeco, ETS-UV, ATG UV Systems, Pacific Ozone, and Wallace & Tiernan 
  • and finally, digital solutions like YSI, OI Analytical, Xylem Vue that leverage remote monitoring, alerts, and data analytics for proactive and predictive maintenance

Based on practical knowledge from decades of combined brand experience, thousands of installations worldwide, and strengths in powerful R&D innovation, our team looks at the entire wastewater process at your plant. We will work with your consulting engineer and State regulators to integrate the right technologies to meet your intended targets. Modular design makes it easy to fit your requirements now and easily expand to meet your future needs.

Water reuse partnership 

Though Xylem has teams of specialists, years of expertise, deep understanding of water regulations, and a broad solutions portfolio, we understand the complexities of water systems and the potential to partner with various water treatment experts. Xylem has partnered with hundreds of different firms around the globe to ensure the most efficient and viable water systems for communities and municipalities.

Our goal is to thoroughly understand each project, determine the best methods, and customize optimal solutions that meet local regulations and requirements while delivering resiliency, quality, and cost savings.

Let us be your partner in making every drop count. Contact us today to discuss your project needs.

Sewage Treatment Mini Train System WWT-50
Sewage Treatment Mini Train System: WWT-50

The highly scalable newterra WWT-50 Sewage Treatment Mini Train System is designed for rapid mobilization to serve camps of 200 to 800 people. These efficient plants are configured in trains that allow modular expansion and easy redeployment of assets. Each base configuration consists of two 40' containers that provide 50 m3 (13,200 US gal) of treatment capacity – enough for 200 people. Supplementing the base system with one 40' Adder container doubles capacity to 100 m3 for up to 400 people.

TrojanUVFlex -- Water Reuse & Drinking Water Disinfection System
TrojanUVFlexAOP – Advanced Oxidation System

Meeting the demand for clean water has never been more challenging. Communities around the world are facing a growing water stress – an insufficient supply, in terms of water quality or water quantity – and often both. Many are turning to potable reuse and drinking water remediation to meet these demands. The TrojanUVFlex®AOP can be part of the solution. This UV advanced oxidation system destroys a range of chemical contaminants while simultaneously providing final treatment, helping municipalities relying on lower quality water sources to continue producing high-quality potable drinking water.

GettyImages-175130383
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.

CyanoFluor
CyanoFluor

CyanoFluor is a dual-channel handheld fluorometer designed for harmful algal bloom monitoring. By measuring chlorophyll-a and phycocyanin simultaneously, it differentiates cyanobacteria from other phytoplankton with precision. Portable, factory calibrated, and easy to use, CyanoFluor supports early detection, rapid assessment, and ongoing monitoring of blooms, protecting ecosystems, aquaculture, and drinking water supplies from the impacts of toxic algae.

VIEWS ON THE LATEST REGS

PFAS regulatory requirement-GettyImages-2220893562
EPA Seeks Court‑Ordered Removal Of 4 PFAS Limits
  • Perfluorooctanoic acid PFOA molecules-GettyImages-2179084012
    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.
  • running faucet-GettyImages-175426122
    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.”
  • questionmarks_Getty-1908249816
    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.
  • 1124-Microbac_Technologies
    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.

  • Rusty-pipe-GettyImages-186881378
    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).

MORE WATER INDUSTRY FEATURES