American Water Works Assn.

Advances in soil aquifer treatment research for sustainable water reuse.

Fox (Arizona State U.) and a team of scientists, faculty, and graduate students from universities, in addition to the County Sanitation Districts of Los Angeles County, provide a study funded by the Awwa Research Foundation, Water Environment Research Foundation, and the co-funding utilities. The results are the second phase in the project, following the first published in 2001 as Soil Aquifer Treatment for Sustainable Water Reuse. The study evaluates the sustainability of soil aquifer treatment (SAT) and emerging contaminants and issues, the effectiveness of SAT processes, and how the information can be used to design, operate, and regulate SAT systems. Chapters discuss field sites and test results, water quality parameters, methods to isolate, dissolved organic carbon, trace organics, nitrogen removal, modeling and systems analysis, and practical applications for the research for effluent pretreatment, site characteristics, and operating strategies. There is no index. (Annotation ©2006 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

Advanced processes for simultaneous arsenic and manganese removal.

The project described in this report sought to demonstrate a water treatment process that simultaneously removes both arsenic and manganese. The treatment process studied involved oxidation, ferric chloride addition, and filtration. The demonstration took place at the Southern California Water Company's Centralia site. The report details bench, pilot, and full-scale testing, and discusses cost analysis. Appendices provide a bench test plan, pilot and full-scale test results, and a photo log of the test site. The report lacks a subject index. (Annotation ©2006 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

American Water Works Association 2006 water utility compensation survey, 11th annual ed.

This spiral-bound volume presents the results of the American Water Works Association's 11th annual Water Utility Compensation Survey (2006). Drawing upon data supplied by some 875 organizations, it provides extensive information on salary ranges and compensation practices throughout the water utility industry. In the main part of the volume, tables summarize the survey data in 45 different job categories. These are further broken down by ownership/management type, population size served, average gallons managed, and total employment. (Annotation ©2006 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

Assessment of chloramine and chlorine residual decay in the distribution system.

This report describes research on the effect of advanced water treatment on chlorine decay in bench-, pilot-, and field-scale applications following conventional and advanced treatment, such as enhanced coagulation, granular activated carbon adsorption, ozonation, biofiltration, reverse osmosis, and ultraviolet radiation. The effects of disinfectant dose, temperature, pH, blending, and rechlorination on residual decay were also examined. The research took place at municipal water sources in five states. There is no subject index. (Annotation ©2006 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

Distribution valves; selection, installation, field testing, and maintenance, 2d ed.

The Association's Distribution Operations and Maintenance Committee updates its manual from the 1996 first edition, offering guidance on selecting, installing, field testing, and maintaining mostly water distribution valves, but also some other valves used in water plant operations. Writing for operators, technicians, and engineers in water utilities of any size, they concentrate on the more commonly used valves, and mention special-use values only to introduce their availability and applications. They do not cover fire hydrants. (Annotation ©2006 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

Estimating health risks from infrastructure failures.

This report examines the roles and responsibilities of different stakeholder groups involved in safe drinking water and public health. It provides guidance on forming multidisciplinary community safe drinking water teams and on managing these teams on a practical level. A final chapter on future directions and needs draws parallels from other industries to illustrate key concepts. There is no subject index. (Annotation ©2006 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

Flowmeters in water supply, 2d ed.

The largest of the five chapters in this slim manual describes the most common flow meters currently used in the water industry, and summarizes their accuracy, repeatability, flow rates, size range, relative head loss, operation theory, installation, and maintenance. Selection parameters, performance guidelines, and some black and white illustrations are also provided. (Annotation ©2006 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

Formation and decay of disinfection by-products in the distribution system.

This report summarizes the results of a study investigating the formation and decay of selected disinfection by-products in full-scale drinking water distribution systems. The focus was on the four trihalomethanes (THMs) and the nine haloacetic acids (HAAs), as well as individual THM and HAA species. Because of its critical nature, N-nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA) was also included. The study was jointly funded by the Awwa Research Foundation and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The volume concludes with a bibliography and list of abbreviations. A subject index is lacking. (Annotation ©2006 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

Integration of membrane filtration into water treatment systems. (CD-ROM included)

This manual summarizes the experience of 14 utilities that have investigated or implemented the integration of membranes into their treatment process to various degrees. Four employees of Black & Veatch Corporation document information on issues such as planning, regulatory approval, financing, design, pilot studies, procurement, and operational experiences. One appendix details the technical specifications of MF, UF, NF, RO, and ED/EDR membranes, while another reprints the utility questionnaire form. The CD-ROM contains a decision tool for selecting the most appropriate membrane technology to treat a given contaminant in the feed water of either a new facility or an existing facility. (Annotation ©2006 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

A knowledge management approach to drinking water utility business. (CD-ROM included)

This book/CD-ROM package report identifies knowledge management's (KM's) applicability to the key challenges of the water utility industry, creates a working definition of KM for the industry, develops best practices based on case studies from outside the industry, and identifies other research projects that would further define the application of KM for the industry. The companion CD-ROM contains a searchable electronic bibliography in PDF format, listing general KM titles, publications, citations, abstracts, and key words. The report lacks a subject index. (Annotation ©2006 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

Micro- and ultrafiltration performance specifications based on microbial removal.

This study develops a performance testing protocol and specification for microfiltration and ultrafiltration membranes with respect to removal of viral and submicron bacterial pathogens. The researchers conducted performance testing at bench scale with a variety of membrane materials and configurations and appropriate viral and bacterial species seeded into clean feedwaters. They further performed pilot-scale testing to verify the bench-scale results, and full-scale testing at a Californian utility to validate the pilot- scale data. The main result of the study is a detailed laboratory protocol for evaluating microbial removal using a low-pressure membrane testing unit. No index is provided. (Annotation ©2006 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

A novel approach to seawater desalination using dual-staged nanofiltration.

More coastal municipalities are developing plans for sea water desalinization as inland fresh water sources decline, but are also facing significant energy costs in reverse osmosis that place projects out of their reach. This process, developed by the Long Beach Water Department, uses a dual-staged nanofiltration process, and in this sponsored report contributors cover both the theoretical and practical aspects of the system. They give a review of the literature and the theoretical basis for membrane characterization and function, describe membrane fouling and critical flux, give operational optimization techniques, including predictive and optimization models and tests, describe blending strategies and challenges from marine viruses and bacteria and alternatives, and make recommendations for suitable membranes, process operations and system integration. They include pilot data and references. (Annotation ©2006 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

Optimization of membrane treatment for direct and clarified water filtration.

This report investigates the interaction of factors affecting membrane performance related to water quality, pretreatment chemicals, pretreatment processes, membrane configurations, and membrane materials. Testing was conducted on membrane fouling mechanisms in natural water in areas of Texas, Georgia, France, Oregon, and New Zealand. A literature review, a literature survey table, and case study details are included. The findings of this study can be used as guidance for the drinking water community to determine how to optimize the integration of MF/UF technologies into existing or new conventional treatment plants. The report lacks a subject index. (Annotation ©2006 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

Physical modeling of mixing in water storage tanks. (CD-ROM included)

This report presents the results of research on mixing processes in finished water storage tanks using a three-dimensional laser-induced fluorescence system that allows non-intrusive measurements of the entire tracer concentration field in the tank. The 140 experiments were conducted on three major reservoir types — ground level cylindrical, standpipe, and ground level rectangular — with varying inlet and outlet geometries. The resulting data serves as a resource for developing computational fluid dynamics codes and designing storage tanks that enhance water quality by maximizing mixing. The CD-ROM contains animations of the mixing experiments viewable in Adobe Reader or Windows Media player. Three of the four authors are affiliated with the Georgia Institute of Technology. No index is provided. (Annotation ©2006 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

Preservation of arsenic species.

This volume presents the results of an Awwa-sponsored study conducted by researchers at the U. of Houston's Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering. The study's main objective was to develop a method to preserve inorganic arsenic species As(III)/As(V) in water samples for a week or more to allow speciation and analysis at a remote laboratory. A number of techniques are described and evaluated here. The volume is not indexed. (Annotation ©2006 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

Strategic communication planning; a guide for water utilities. (CD-ROM included)

This guide for water utilities professionals explains how to create a strategic communication plan that will keep customers informed about key issues. It also describes some methods for measuring plan results and integrating communication planning with other planning processes. The recommendations are based upon several years of research sponsored by the American Water Works Association as well as insights gleaned from other industries facing similar communication challenges. The volume is not indexed. Additional research findings and a reference list are provided in PDF format on an accompanying CD-ROM. (Annotation ©2006 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)