AWWA QTC98225

The Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) of 1974 and its Amendments (SDWAA) in 1986 have until recently focused on treated drinking water. Substantial evidence has demonstrated that when water moves through a distribution system it comes in contact with various factors which can cause the water quality to deteriorate between the treatment plant and the point of consumption. Real time inline monitoring of various water quality parameters within a distribution system has the potential to provide utilities valuable information for treating and knowing the quality of the water before it is provided to the consumer. The US Environmental Protection Agency has designed and fabricated a distribution system simulator to better evaluate factors which influence water quality in distribution systems. Some of these factors include the chemical and biological quality of the delivered water, the effectiveness and efficiency of the treatment plant and the distribution system, age of the system, type (material), design, and maintenance of the distribution and delivery network. However, very little is known and understood about the reactions that take place in the bulk phase of the water as it flows through the delivery network.