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Evaluation of Climate Change Impact on Drinking Water Treatment Plant Operation
Citation:
Li, Z., R. M. Clark, S. G. Buchberger, AND Y. J. YANG. Evaluation of Climate Change Impact on Drinking Water Treatment Plant Operation . JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING. American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), Reston, VA, 140(9):A4014005 1-9, (2014).
Impact/Purpose:
To inform the public.
Description:
It is anticipated that global climate change will adversely impact source water quality in many areas of the United States and, therefore, will influence the design and operation of current and future drinking water treatment systems. Some of these impacts may lead to violations of drinking water standards. The USEPA Water Treatment Plant (WTP) model was utilized in a case study of the Greater Cincinnati Water Works’ Richard Miller Treatment Plant to illustrate how principles from adaptive engineering can be used to blunt the impact of climate change on treatment plant operation. The WTP model was validated using data from the USEPA’s Information Collection Rule (ICR) and data from the Miller Plant. A series of multivariate Monte Carlo experiments were executed to simulate and track performance of the Miller treatment plant subject to a suite of nine jointly-distributed source water quality parameters (e.g., TOC, pH, UVA, alkalinity, total hardness) under both current and future hydrologic conditions. Generalized sensitivity analyses with Kolmogorov-Smirnov d statistic were applied to link the source water parameters with elevated TOC levels in finished water. Results indicate a high risk of experiencing violations to TOC criteria and to DBP standards under future hydrologic and climatic-change scenarios. The risk, however, could be managed with operational adjustments,such as increasing the frequency of GAC reactivation or reducing residence time in the distribution system. Utility costs associated with operational adjustments were expressed as cost-probability curves. The approach demonstrated in this case study is useful in planning infrastructure and operational adaptation to climate changes.
