WATER INDUSTRY FEATURES, INSIGHTS, AND ANALYSIS
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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?
VIEWS ON THE LATEST REGS
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For years, the water industry's PFAS conversation centered on monitoring, testing, and regulatory anticipation. Today, that phase is largely over.
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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.
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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.
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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.”
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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
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Trenchless geopolymer rehabilitation offers a sustainable solution for culvert repair in sensitive ecosystems. Its rapid-curing, low-toxicity properties allow for quick service reinstatement, preserving hydraulic capacity and protecting local water quality and aquatic life without the need for disruptive excavation.
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Discover why ozone, a powerful oxidant and sanitizer, has become a leading solution for addressing water quality challenges.
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Manual grab sampling for chlorine residual compliance burdens operators with excessive drive time and laboratory costs. Adopting continuous, certified online monitoring satisfies regulatory reporting requirements while freeing technical staff for higher-priority operational tasks.
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TMF document processing requires a delicate balancing act. Sponsors strive for accuracy and completeness, but timeliness is crucial. How can teams achieve all three? Here are some practical strategies.
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Learn why the U.S. EPA has recognized granular activated carbon (GAC) as a best available technology (BAT) for a wide range of substances within the same system.
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For water treatment professionals prioritizing precision and efficiency, hollow-fiber microfiltration membranes are revolutionizing the way industries and municipalities treat water.
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Learn about a novel solution dramatically improving the purification and yield of promising nanoscale vesicles for medical applications.
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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.
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Gain sponsor approval by positioning technology as key to streamlined workflows, compliance, and patient safety — reducing risk and improving collaboration. Explore strategies now.
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In this article, we outline the sources, occurrence, known health issues, and mitigation options for specific contaminants.
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Explore how rapid equipment replacement and peristaltic pump technology prevented regulatory violations at a major sanitation district. Learn how high-stakes infrastructure failures were resolved through strategic engineering support to ensure continuous delivery of safe water.
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Taking a proactive approach to compliance can help minimize regulatory risks, avoid submission delays, and ensure continued market access.
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Relying on assumptions when designing water treatment systems creates unnecessary financial and operational risks. Adopting predictive modeling and data-driven testing provides the precise, actionable insights required to optimize performance, manage costs, and ensure compliance.
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Developed from U.S. Office of Naval Research requirements, this multiparameter chlorine sensor offers extended maintenance-free operation, flow-independence, and automatic compensation for reliable, in-pipe monitoring.
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Learn how scanners used for high resolution metrology measurements should be designed and tested for flatness of motion, particularly for atomic force microscopy (AFM).
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Aseptic processing sterilizes products and packaging separately, then combines them in a sterile environment. See how this method ensures safety, extends shelf life, and protects medicines from contamination.
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Oxygen heterogeneity, caused by pressure variations and other factors in large-scale bioreactors, can significantly impact cell growth and product yield.
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Single-future design assumptions are no longer sufficient. See what scenario modelling reveals about building treatment infrastructure that performs across decades of uncertainty.