scholarly journals A biochemical multi-species quality model of a drinking water distribution system for simulation and design

2013 ◽  
Vol 23 (3) ◽  
pp. 571-585 ◽  
Author(s):  
Krzysztof Arminski ◽  
Tomasz Zubowicz ◽  
Mietek A. Brdys

Abstract Drinking Water Distribution Systems (DWDSs) play a key role in sustainable development of modern society. They are classified as critical infrastructure systems. This imposes a large set of highly demanding requirements on the DWDS operation and requires dedicated algorithms for on-line monitoring and control to tackle related problems. Requirements on DWDS availability restrict the usability of the real plant in the design phase. Thus, a proper model is crucial. Within this paper a DWDS multi-species quality model for simulation and design is derived. The model is composed of multiple highly inter-connected modules which are introduced to represent chemical and biological species and (above all) their interactions. The chemical part includes the processes of chloramine decay with additional bromine catalysis and reaction with nitrogen compounds. The biological part consists of both heterotrophic and chemo-autotrophic bacteria species. The heterotrophic bacteria are assumed to consume assimilable organic carbon. Autotrophs are ammonia oxidizing bacteria and nitrite oxidizing bacteria species which are responsible for nitrification processes. Moreover, Disinfection By-Products (DBPs) are also considered. Two numerical examples illustrate the derived model’s behaviour in normal and disturbance operational states.

2002 ◽  
Vol 68 (1) ◽  
pp. 73-81 ◽  
Author(s):  
John M. Regan ◽  
Gregory W. Harrington ◽  
Daniel R. Noguera

ABSTRACT Nitrification in drinking water distribution systems is a common operational problem for many utilities that use chloramines for secondary disinfection. The diversity of ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOB) and nitrite-oxidizing bacteria (NOB) in the distribution systems of a pilot-scale chloraminated drinking water treatment system was characterized using terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism (T-RFLP) analysis and 16S rRNA gene (ribosomal DNA [rDNA]) cloning and sequencing. For ammonia oxidizers, 16S rDNA-targeted T-RFLP indicated the presence of Nitrosomonas in each of the distribution systems, with a considerably smaller peak attributable to Nitrosospira-like AOB. Sequences of AOB amplification products aligned within the Nitrosomonas oligotropha cluster and were closely related to N. oligotropha and Nitrosomonas ureae. The nitrite-oxidizing communities were comprised primarily of Nitrospira, although Nitrobacter was detected in some samples. These results suggest a possible selection of AOB related to N. oligotropha and N. ureae in chloraminated systems and demonstrate the presence of NOB, indicating a biological mechanism for nitrite loss that contributes to a reduction in nitrite-associated chloramine decay.


2006 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 147-151 ◽  
Author(s):  
X.-J. Zhang ◽  
W. Lu

Biofilm growth in drinking water distribution systems was studied in an annular reactor system which was designed to model the hydraulic conditions in water mains. Experiments were performed with chlorine-free water as well as with different disinfectant (chlorine or chloramine) residuals and different AOC concentrations added to the reactor influent to examine the effect of disinfectant residuals and AOC concentrations on biofilm accumulation and planktonic cell numbers. The dynamic parameters of bacteria growth were calculated in water with different disinfectant (chlorine or chloramine) and the results indicated that monochloramine may be more effective than free chlorine for control of biofilm accumulation.


2012 ◽  
Vol 12 (5) ◽  
pp. 580-587 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephen Mounce ◽  
John Machell ◽  
Joby Boxall

Safe, clean drinking water is a foundation of society and water quality monitoring can contribute to ensuring this. A case study application of the CANARY software to historic data from a UK drinking water distribution system is described. Sensitivity studies explored appropriate choice of algorithmic parameter settings for a baseline site, performance was evaluated with artificial events and the system then transferred to all sites. Results are presented for analysis of nine water quality sensors measuring six parameters and deployed in three connected district meter areas (DMAs), fed from a single water source (service reservoir), for a 1 year period and evaluated using comprehensive water utility records with 86% of event clusters successfully correlated to causes (spatially limited to DMA level). False negatives, defined by temporal clusters of water quality complaints in the pilot area not corresponding to detections, were only approximately 25%. It was demonstrated that the software could be configured and applied retrospectively (with potential for future near real time application) to detect various water quality event types (with a wider remit than contamination alone) for further interpretation.


2003 ◽  
Vol 3 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 239-246 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. Kastl ◽  
I. Fisher ◽  
V. Jegatheesan ◽  
J. Chandy ◽  
K. Clarkson

Nearly all drinking water distribution systems experience a “natural” reduction of disinfection residuals. The most frequently used disinfectant is chlorine, which can decay due to reactions with organic and inorganic compounds in the water and by liquid/solids reaction with the biofilm, pipe walls and sediments. Usually levels of 0.2-0.5 mg/L of free chlorine are required at the point of consumption to maintain bacteriological safety. Higher concentrations are not desirable as they present the problems of taste and odour and increase formation of disinfection by-products. It is usually a considerable concern for the operators of drinking water distribution systems to manage chlorine residuals at the “optimum level”, considering all these issues. This paper describes how the chlorine profile in a drinking water distribution system can be modelled and optimised on the basis of readily and inexpensively available laboratory data. Methods are presented for deriving the laboratory data, fitting a chlorine decay model of bulk water to the data and applying the model, in conjunction with a simplified hydraulic model, to obtain the chlorine profile in a distribution system at steady flow conditions. Two case studies are used to demonstrate the utility of the technique. Melbourne’s Greenvale-Sydenham distribution system is unfiltered and uses chlorination as its only treatment. The chlorine model developed from laboratory data was applied to the whole system and the chlorine profile was shown to be accurately simulated. Biofilm was not found to critically affect chlorine decay. In the other case study, Sydney Water’s Nepean system was modelled from limited hydraulic data. Chlorine decay and trihalomethane (THM) formation in raw and treated water were measured in a laboratory, and a chlorine decay and THM model was derived on the basis of these data. Simulated chlorine and THM profiles agree well with the measured values available. Various applications of this modelling approach are also briefly discussed.


2016 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Vicente Gomez-Alvarez ◽  
Randy P. Revetta

We report here the draft genome sequences of four Mycobacterium chelonae strains from biofilms subjected to a “chlorine burn” in a chloraminated drinking water distribution system simulator. These opportunistic pathogens have been detected in hospital and municipal water distribution systems, in which biofilms have been recognized as an important factor for their persistence.


2002 ◽  
Vol 68 (11) ◽  
pp. 5318-5325 ◽  
Author(s):  
Corinne Le Dantec ◽  
Jean-Pierre Duguet ◽  
Antoine Montiel ◽  
Nadine Dumoutier ◽  
Sylvie Dubrou ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT The frequency of recovery of atypical mycobacteria was estimated in two treatment plants providing drinking water to Paris, France, at some intermediate stages of treatment. The two plants use two different filtration processes, rapid and slow sand filtration. Our results suggest that slow sand filtration is more efficient for removing mycobacteria than rapid sand filtration. In addition, our results show that mycobacteria can colonize and grow on granular activated carbon and are able to enter distribution systems. We also investigated the frequency of recovery of mycobacteria in the water distribution system of Paris (outside buildings). The mycobacterial species isolated from the Paris drinking water distribution system are different from those isolated from the water leaving the treatment plants. Saprophytic mycobacteria (present in 41.3% of positive samples), potentially pathogenic mycobacteria (16.3%), and unidentifiable mycobacteria (54.8%) were isolated from 12 sites within the Paris water distribution system. Mycobacterium gordonae was preferentially recovered from treated surface water, whereas Mycobacterium nonchromogenicum was preferentially recovered from groundwater. No significant correlations were found among the presence of mycobacteria, the origin of water, and water temperature.


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