You are here:
WATER QUALITY EARLY WARNING SYSTEMS FOR SOURCE WATER AND DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM MONITORING
Citation:
Allen*, H. J., R C. Haught*, J A. Goodrich*, AND J M. Lazorchak. WATER QUALITY EARLY WARNING SYSTEMS FOR SOURCE WATER AND DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM MONITORING. Presented at 24th Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry National Meeting, Austin, TX, 11/9-12/2003.
Description:
A variety of probes for use in continuous monitoring of water quality exist. They range from single parameter chemical/physical probes to comprehensive screening systems based on whole organism responses. Originally developed for monitoring specific characteristics of water quality or episodic contamination events, little is known about how these probes respond to potential intentional contamination threats. Research programs to determine the response of water quality monitoring systems have been implemented at the U.S. EPA Early Warning Systems Laboratory (EWSL) and the Water Awareness Technology Evaluation Research Security (WATERS) Center. Two approaches have been taken. The first is to evaluate the response of developing and commercially available chemical/physical technologies for distribution system monitoring to simulated contamination events. This work has been done using a Distribution Simulation System (DSS) to which various contaminants have been introduced. Time-series analysis has shown the ability to detect contamination events. The second approach evaluates the relative sensitivity of continuous, time-relevant biologically based early warning systems for use in both source water and distribution system monitoring. These systems are based on Cladocera behavior, bivalve gape, algal fluorescence, and fish ventilatory rates. A matrix of responses to a suite of representative contaminants will be presented. No single parameter or endpoint will provide the level of sensitivity needed to monitor all potential contaminants in our water supplies. The U.S. EPA is currently developing a suite of endpoints to be integrated into an EPA developed algorithm. This algorithm will provide a level of information regarding the status of overall water quality in source waters and distribution systems not currently available.