AWWA WQTC65698

Source waters are vulnerable to intentional or accidental contamination. There are a number of potential problems with implementing a monitoring system for source water. The use of advanced chemometrics techniques have been proven to be effective in recognizing and classifying events in the complex matrix of the drinking water distribution system. The use of these same algorithms with a different sensor set to monitor source water is described here. A trial program in coordination with the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) is being conducted to determine if the use of these algorithms for this application is feasible. A series of monitoring stations on a major watershed will have their data run through the algorithms to see if events can be recognized and alarm threshold levels set. Samples will be collected and an analysis run to determine the cause of any recognized events. The data will be collected from Fall 2006 for a period of at least 12 months. If successful this new tool opens a new vista for source water monitoring for both terror and pollution related events. Includes table, figures.