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SOURCE WATER PROTECTION: ITS ROLE IN CONTROLLING DISINFECTION BY-PRODUCTS (DBPS) AND MICROBIAL CONTAMINANTS
Citation:
Borst*, M, M L. O'Shea*, J M. Perdek*, M D. Royer*, D J. Reasoner*, AND M. Krudner*. SOURCE WATER PROTECTION: ITS ROLE IN CONTROLLING DISINFECTION BY-PRODUCTS (DBPS) AND MICROBIAL CONTAMINANTS. Chapter 4, Clark, R.M. and Boutin, B.K. (ed.), Controlling Disinfection By-Products and Microbial Contaminants in Drinking Water (EPA/600/R-01/110). USEPA, Cincinnati, OH, (2002).
Description:
Passage of 1996 Safe Drinking Water Act Amendments (SDWAA) has focused the attention of wter utility managers and public health and regulatory officials on source water protection (SWP) and its role in protecting public water supplies. There is growing awareness that water treatment and/or disinfection may not always be enough to ensure the provision of potable and sfe water to the consumer. Most utilities in the US invest a great deal of time, energy and capital in developing mechanisms for protection against the impact of sudden changes in influent water quality. Concern over source water protection is not limited to surface water supplies. Many ground water supplies have proven to be vulnerable as well, resulting in the various states implementing wellhead protection programs. Water supplies vary greatly in the nature of the source water they use and in the circumstances under which they provide water to their customers. But there are some common elements that are applicable to source water protection. This chapter will explore SWP as outlined in the Safe Drinking Water Act: the nature of threats to source water quality; methods, monitoring, and assessment of pathogens; technologies for control of water quality; the use of models to assess water utility vulnerability; and the relationship of source water protection to watershed management.