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Research Highlights
Accessing Treatment Data for Drinking Water QualityPodcastsListen to or download the podcast to learn more about how NRMRL research helps to support the protection of human health and the environment.   For more than 30 years, EPA has provided information to U.S. drinking water systems—large and small—that serve millions of American consumers. In that time, EPA researchers have identified hundreds of potential drinking water contaminants. To help stakeholders navigate this body of information, EPA recently commissioned a new online tool, the Drinking Water Treatability Database (TDB), that provides information on controlling these contaminants in drinking water. The Drinking Water Treatability Database
Accessing the Drinking Water Treatability Database
The TDB provides the contaminant, information on the treatment process, the effectiveness of the treatment process to control the contaminant, and extensive references to support this information. It offers regulators, water treatment plant engineers, design consultants, academics and first responders one place to find this information, and the reference citations upon which the information was gathered. Over time, the TDB will include more than 200 regulated and unregulated contaminants. Approximately 30 other contaminants will be added in mid-2009. By continuing to add new contaminants, the TDB will remain a current source of information that can be used by stakeholders to identify:
The database, which is managed by engineers at EPA’s National Risk Management Research Laboratory*, is structured so that users can evaluate contaminant removal at various stages in the treatment process—at the source, following clarification, following treatment, or at the finished-water stage. In its current introduction to the public, the TDB presents ten contaminants, including those regulated in drinking water, those on EPA’s Contaminant Candidate List (CCL, unregulated contaminants that may require future regulation), and those related to water security, pesticides, pharmaceuticals, endocrine disruptors (chemicals that may interfere with the human endocrine system), and those of water security interest. More than 25 water treatment processes for contaminant control are available on the TDB, including those most commonly used (filtration, chlorination) and those less commonly used (ozonation, reverse osmosis) but known to be effective in contaminant control. Navigating the TDBMaterials are arranged for easy access on the TDB homepage. To begin, users may select “Find a Contaminant” or “Find a Treatment Process.” Either page offers an “Overview.” The Contaminant Overview tab provides a summary of the contaminant’s importance, regulation, presence on the CCL, and use as a pesticide, pharmaceutical, etc. The Contaminant Properties tab summarizes a contaminant’s physical, chemical, radiological, and microbiological properties. The Contaminant Fate and Transport tab provides information on a contaminant’s stability, fate, and transport, allowing users to assess the contaminant’s presence in source waters. The Contaminant References tab provides a list of all references related to the selected contaminant. The Contaminant Treatment Processes tab provides a summary of the effectiveness, or lack thereof, of the various treatment processes and allows the user to select a treatment process. The Overview tab on the Treatment Process page offers key processes and water quality parameters (dose, loading rate, contact time, temperature, alkalinity, for example) on which the treatment’s effectiveness depends. The Treatment Processes References tab provides a list of all references related to the selected treatment process. The Treatment Processes Contaminant tab allows the user to select a treatment process. Once the user has selected a contaminant and a treatment process, a Summary tab describes the effectiveness, or lack thereof, of that process and a Data tab opens the heart of the TDB, which is presented in a matrix. Matrix columns provide the reference citation; water quality parameters such as pH, hardness and turbidity; treatment parameters such as chlorine dose and contact time; and results such as percent removal. Matrix rows provide data taken from the various references. With scant references there may be just a few rows; with numerous references there may be a hundred or more rows. Each row ends with a Comment field where additional relevant information is provided. Information in the Data tabs may be sorted alphabetically or numerically (for example by author, by pH, or by higher percentage of removal) and the entire Data tab may be easily exported to a spreadsheet format for wider viewing and manipulation. Finally, users may offer e-mail comments and critiques by clicking on the “Contact Us” link on each page. It is anticipated that, as the information on the TDB is updated, the database will become the largest core repository of drinking water treatability information in the world, and a ready resource for the delivery of safe drinking water for all American communities. *The TDB is a cooperative project developed by the EPA Office of Research and Development’s National Risk Management Research Laboratory and National Homeland Security Research Center and the Office of Water’s Office of Ground Water and Drinking Water. ContactJane Ice, NRMRL Office of Public Affairs (513) 569-7311
Hot Off the Presses—NRMRL PublicationsJournal Articles Agostini, P. and A. M. Vega (2009) “Decision Support Systems (DSSs) for Contaminated Land Management - Gaps and Challenges.” In Decision Support Systems for Risk-Based Management of Contaminated Sites. Springer Science + Business Media, LLC, New York, NY, (Section 2):275–280. Choi, H., S. Agarwal, and S. R. Al-Abed. (2009) “Adsorption and Simultaneous Dechlorination of PCBs on GAC/Fe/Pd: Mechanistic Aspects and Reactive Capping Barrier Concept.” Environmental Science & Technology. American Chemical Society, Washington, DC, 43(2):488–493. Jetter, J. J. and P. Kariher. (2009) “Solid-Fuel Household Cook Stoves: Characterization of Performance and Emissions.” Biomass and Bioenergy. Elsevier Science Ltd, New York, NY, 33(2):294–305. Roy, A. and W. D. Shuster. (2008) “Assessing Impervious Surface Connectivity and Applications for Watershed Management.” Journal of the American Water Resources Association (JAWRA), American Water Resources Association, Middleburg, VA, 45(1):198–209. Rastogi, A., S. R. Al-Abed, and D. D. Dionysiou. (2009) “Sulfate Radical-Based Ferrous-Peroxymonosulfate Oxidative System for PCBs Degradation in Aqueous and Sediment Systems.” Applied Catalysis B: Environmental. Elsevier BV, AMSTERDAM, Netherlands, 85(3-4):171–179. Sahle-DeMessie, E. and V. G. Devulappeli. (2008). “Vapor Phase Oxidation of Dimethyl Sulfide with Ozone Over V2 O5 /TiO2 Catalyst.” Applied Catalysis B: Environmental. Elsevier Science Ltd, New York, NY, 84(3-4):408–419. Shuster, W. D., Y. Zhang, A. Roy, F. B. Daniel, and M. E. Troyer. (2008) “Characterizing Storm Hydrograph Rise and Fall Dynamics and Their Relationship with Stream Stage Data.” JAWRA. American Water Resources Association, Middleburg, VA, 44(6):1431–1440). Tang, K. W., W. O. Smith, Jr., D. Elliott, and A. R. Shields. (2008) “Colony Size of Phaeocystis Antarctica (Prymnesiophyceae) as Influenced by Zooplankton Grazers.” Journal of Phycology. Blackwell Publishing, Malden, MA, 44(6):1372–1378. Vega, A., R. Argus, T. Stockton, P. Black, K. Black, and N. Stiber. (2009) “SMARTe: An MCDA Approach to Revitalize Communities and Restore the Environment.” In Decision Support Systems for Risk-Based Management of Contaminated Sites. Springer Science + Business Media, LLC, New York, NY, (Section 2):179–204. Williamson, J. M. and H. W. Thurston. (2008) “Valuing Acid Mine Drainage Remediation in West Virginia: A Hedonic Modeling Approach.” 10.1007/s00168-007-0 The Annals of Regional Science. Springer Science+Business Media B.V, Dordrecht, Netherlands, 42(4):987–999. US EPA Published Reports US EPA. (2008) Eastern Research Group. “Background Information Document for Updating AP42 Section 2.4 for Estimating Emissions from Municipal Solid Waste Landfills (PDF).” (108 pp, 3.11 MB) EPA/600/R-08/116. US EPA. (2008) Ford, R. G., R. T. Wilkin, and S. D. Acree. “Site Characterization to Support Use of Monitored Natural Attenuation for Remediation of Inorganic Contaminants in Ground Water (PDF).” (16 pp, 1.11 MB) EPA/600/R-08/114. US EPA (2009) Hunkeler, D., R. U. Meckenstock, B. Lollar, T. C. Schmidt, and J. T. Wilson. “A Guide for Assessing Biodegradation and Source Identification of Organic Groundwater Contaminants Using Compound Specific Isotope Analysis (CSIA) (PDF).” (82 pp, 3.52 MB) EPA/600/R-08/148. US EPA (2009) RTI International. “Ozone Antimicrobial Efficacy (PDF).” (17 pp, 321 KB) EPA/600/R-08/137. US EPA (2008) Sorg, T. J., A. Chen, W. Condit, L. Wang, and A. Wang. “Arsenic Removal from Drinking Water by Adsorptive Media U.S. EPA Demonstration Project at Brown City, MI: Final Performance Evaluation Report (PDF).” (99 pp, 9.33 MB) EPA/600/R-08/142. US EPA (2009) SORG, T. J., A. Chen, C. Coonfare, L. Wang, and A. Wang. “Arsenic Removal from Drinking Water by Absorptive Media-U.S. EPA Demonstration Project at Desert Sands MDWCA, NM: Final Performance Evaluation Report (PDF).” (100 pp, 6.28 MB) EPA/600/R-08/140. US EPA (2008) SORG, T. J., A. Chen, L. Wang, and A. Wang. “Arsenic Removal from Drinking Water by Adsorptive Media U.S. EPA Demonstration Project at Queen Anne’s County, MD: Final Performance Evaluation Report (PDF).” (93 pp, 2.40 MB) EPA/600/R-08/141. US EPA (2008) Thurston, H. W., A. Roy, W. D. Shuster, H. Cabezas, M. A. Morrison, and M. A. Taylor. “Using Economic Incentives to Manage Stormwater Runoff in the Shepherd Creek Watershed, Part I (PDF).” (66 pp, 3.55 MB) EPA/600/R-08/129 (NTIS PB2009-103249). You will need Adobe Reader to view some of the files on this page. |
