Is Your Surface Water Plant Optimized?—Part 1

• Published in: Journal - American Water Works Association Vol. 97; no. 1; pp. 38 - 40
• Main Authors: Fraser, Dan L., Steiner, Joe
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Denver American Water Works Association 01-01-2005
• Subjects: Compliance; Costs; Drinking water; Optimization; Pathogens; Process Control; Process controls; Quality standards; Regulations; Sedimentation & deposition; Series & special reports; Small Water Systems; Surface Water; Surveillance; Treatment Plants; Water quality; Water treatment; Water treatment plants; United States > US
• ISSN: 0003-150X; 1551-8833
• DOI: 10.1002/j.1551-8833.2005.tb10798.x

This is Part One of a two‐part column on surface water treatment plant optimization. The article describes the term “optimization” as used to describe the efficient operation of process control procedures in the creation of a product such as drinking water. The article lists criteria used to measure the success of an optimized conventional water treatment plant. These criteria were developed to measure the effective use of the multiple barriers to pathogens (sedimentation, filtration, and disinfection) provided in a typical conventional water treatment plant and are more restrictive and difficult to achieve than the performance requirements of the SWTR, the Enhanced SWTR, or the Long Term 1 SWTR. The article lists typical factors commonly observed in struggling water systems that are marginally meeting regulations.