Treatment to Minimize Water Quality Changes and Energy Losses During Distribution
Date: April 18
Time: 3:00 p.m.
Place: Foy Union 208
Vernon L. Snoeyink
Emeritus Professor of Environmental Engineering
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Biography
Dr. Snoeyink holds a B.S. in civil engineering (1964), M.S. in sanitary engineering (1966), and Ph.D. in water resources engineering (1968), all from the University of Michigan. Dr. Snoeyink's research has focused on drinking water quality control. His research program in recent years has centered on the removal of organic and inorganic contaminants from water using adsorption systems, especially granular and powdered activated carbon systems that are coupled with membrane systems. Dr. Snoeyink is a member of the National Academy of Engineering, the American Society of Civil Engineers, the American Water Works Association, the Association of Environmental Engineering and Science Professors, and the International Water Association. He served as President of the Association of Engineering and Science Professors and currently is on the Editorial Advisory Board of AQUA.
Abstract
Treatment to Minimize Water Quality Changes and Energy Losses During Distribution
It is not sufficient to purify drinking water to meet all drinking water standards and to make it aesthetically pleasing. Drinking water also must be treated so that its quality does not deteriorate and it does not form energy-consuming scales as it travels through the pipe network to your tap. Too often those of us involved in treating drinking water forget about the chemical and biological quality-degrading processes that can occur in pipe networks. The "shelf life" of water is limited, as we find out when we leave it in storage tanks too long. Improperly treated water may lead to corrosion of lead and copper pipe and violations of health-based standards. Precipitation of calcium, magnesium or aluminum based solids may cause higher-than-necessary energy costs to deliver the water. Iron scales on unlined cast iron pipes are especially troublesome because they adversely affect system hydraulics and can cause colored tap water. Incomplete removal of biodegradable substances can be the cause of high levels of microorganisms and odor in our tap water. Fortunately, there are solutions to ensure that the quality of the tapwater that you and I drink is substantially the same as that which leaves the purification plant.
