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Monitoring for Harmful Algal Blooms in Influent Waters and Through Treatment on Lake Erie in the 2013 and 2014 Bloom Seasons
Citation:
Sanan, T., N. Dugan, D. Lytle, AND H. Mash. Monitoring for Harmful Algal Blooms in Influent Waters and Through Treatment on Lake Erie in the 2013 and 2014 Bloom Seasons . Presented at Water Quality Technology Conference, Salt Lake City, UT, November 15 - 19, 2015.
Impact/Purpose:
This presentation is intended to educate treatment operators and other stakeholders based on our observations from the study of harmful algal blooms in the past several years. The goal is improved understanding of both HAB occurrence and treatment conditions to maximize removal of toxins and protect human health.
Description:
Monitoring of Harmful Algal Blooms in Influent and Through Drinking Water Treatment Facilities Located on Lake Erie in the 2013 and 2014 Bloom SeasonsToby Sanan, Nicholas Dugan, Darren Lytle, Heath MashHarmful algal blooms (HABs) and their associated toxins are emerging as significant issues of concern in the United States. Three toxins, microcystin, cylindrospermopsin and anatoxin, are on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (USEPA’s) Contaminant Candidate List (CCL) and are also being considered for inclusion in the Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Rule (UCMR). HAB associated toxins affect primarily the liver and central nervous system. The occurrence and intensity of harmful algal blooms (HABs) on Lake Erie has been increasing since their first occurrences several decades ago, culminating this season in a do not drink order for Toledo, OH which lasted three days.The Toledo episode demonstrated how challenging it can be to effectively treat water during HAB events, and our lack of understanding of the fate of algal cells and toxins through water treatment trains. The objective of this work was to the fate of algal toxins through the water treatment trains of six treatment facilities that use Lake Erie as a drinking water source during the 2013 and 2014 HAB seasons, Water samples were collected at as many as 7 locations through the treatment trains of plants on a monthly basis over a 6 month period. General water quality parameters including total organic carbon (TOC), orthophosphate, metals including aluminum and manganese, alkalinity, 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