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Monitoring of Harmful Algal Blooms through Drinking Water Treatment Facilities Located on Lake Erie in the 2014 and 2015 Bloom Seasons
Citation:
Sanan, T., N. Dugan, D. Lytle, AND H. Mash. Monitoring of Harmful Algal Blooms through Drinking Water Treatment Facilities Located on Lake Erie in the 2014 and 2015 Bloom Seasons. Presented at Water Qualaity Technology Conference & Exposition, Salt Lake City, UT, November 15 - 19, 2015.
Impact/Purpose:
To inform the public.
Description:
A number of drinking water treatment plants on Lake Erie have supplied water samples on a monthly basis for analysis related to the occurrence of harmful algal blooms (HABs). General water quality parameters including total organic carbon (TOC), orthophosphate, and chlorophyll-A levels were measured. To quantify HAB activity, LC/MS/MS and ELISA techniques were employed to measure microcysin levels. The month-to-month progression in HAB occurrence and the relationship with influent water quality parameters were compared through the bloom season. In addition to the influent waters, samples were collected for analysis through the treatment train of each plant to evaluate the efficacy of toxin removal. Comparisons between extracellular and total sample matrices suggest that lysis of cyanobacterial cells can occur following oxidant addition in treatment, triggering toxin release. However, even during significant bloom events, with substantial toxin levels present in the influent waters, breakthrough of toxin into the distribution systems of the utilities was not observed. These results suggest that engineering improvements to increase the efficiency of removal of intact cyanobacterial cells might reduce the risk of toxin breakthrough in drinking water treatment.
URLs/Downloads:
http://www.awwa.org/Portals/0/files/education/conferences/wqtc/wqtc15/pdfs/2015WQTCTechnicalProgramWEB.pdf