American Water Works Assn.

Applicability of reliability-centered maintenance in the water industry. (CD-ROM included)

This report presents the results of two pilot projects that implemented reliability-centered maintenance (RCM) to develop optimized maintenance programs for their asset base, and summarizes responses to a survey of utilities with and without established RCM programs. The final chapter evaluates the costs and benefits of RCM programs, outlines a step-by-step procedure for implementing such a program at a water utility, and recommends change management actions to move from a breakdown reactive approach to a program built on RCM principles. The CD-ROM contains more detailed reports for the two pilot projects and two successful RCM programs. (Annotation ©2007 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

Criteria for valve location and system reliability. (CD-ROM included)

This study develops a strategic valving tool that can find weaknesses in a water distribution system, identify critical valves and locations for the addition of new valves, and assess the impact of valve reliability on customer outage. It also contains the results of two case studies which tested the methodology and software at water utilities in Pennsylvania and Ottawa. The CD-ROM contains the strategic valve management model software program for prioritizing valve exercising and valve renewal. (Annotation ©2007 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

Distribution water quality issues related to new development or low usage. (CD-ROM included)

This report, sponsored by the Awwa Research Foundation and prepared by a team from CH2M HILL, Inc. and the U. of Louisville's Dept. of Civil Engineering, aims to identify best management projects that address water quality issues that stem from low usage, whether due to new development or reduced demand, issues that because of the increased water age throughout the system resulting from low usage can include decreased disinfectant residual, sedimentation, increased temperature, taste, odor, and color problems. The report identifies the range of water quality changes that occur in distribution systems as a result of low usage, recommends design/construction and operations and management best practices for minimizing water quality problems, and develops a software-based decision support tool for assistance in the selection of these practices, which is included on the accompanying CD-ROM. (Annotation ©2007 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

Enhanced characterization and representation of flow through Karst aquifers.

Painter, Sun, and Green (all: Center for Nuclear Waste Regulatory Analyses, San Antonio, Texas) report findings from a research project jointly funded by the Colorado-based nonprofit Awwa Research Foundation, the Southwest Florida Water Management District, and the Edwards Aquifer Authority. The karst modeling project was organized to develop enhanced groundwater modeling capabilities that can be used to effectively manage karst aquifers. The report summarizes the first year of the multi-year project: identifying key considerations for modeling karst aquifers; evaluating existing modeling approaches; selecting an approach for detailed investigation and development during the remainder of the project — the dual-conductivity MODFLOW package (DCM); further developing, documenting, and testing the package for use with MODFLOW-2000; conducting simulation demonstrations of a segment of the Edwards Aquifer near Austin, Texas; assessing the results; and determining additional research needs. No subject index. (Annotation ©2007 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

Membrane treatment for drinking water and reuse applications; a compendium of peer-reviewed papers.

This work contains selected research and case study papers from the 2004 AWWA Annual Conference and Exposition, the 2004 AWWA Water Quality Technology Conference and Exposition, and the 2005 AWWA Membrane Technology Conference and Exposition. All areas of membrane technology and use for water treatment are represented, including MF, UF, NF, RO, contaminant removal, operations issues, pretreatment, fouling, residuals disposal, reuse, and regulations. Section I addresses the removal efficiency of membrane technologies. Sections II and III look at the impact and reliability of pretreatment strategies such as coagulation, ozone, and biological treatment, and describing strategies for characterizing or minimizing membrane fouling and scaling. Section IV offers an update on regulatory issues, including the membrane filtration guidance manual, membrane integrity, pressure-decay tests, and methods of quantifying virus removal. Section V presents pilot and case studies in integrated membrane systems, and Section VI examines the use of membrane bioreactors in wastewater reclamation and reuse. The final section looks at issues related to residuals and concentrate management. B&w and a few color images are included. (Annotation ©2007 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

Occurrence of manganese in drinking water and manganese control. (CD-ROM included)

This report, which acknowledges that the excessive presence of manganese in drinking water is primarily aesthetic, also notes that customers will detect black water long before they will detect other, potentially much more physically harmful materials, and that customer satisfaction is dependent on the color of water as much as on other factors. It also shows how manganese can build up across several processes, including reducing chlorine levels. The report describes the problem and the nature of the study described here, reviews the recent literature on health and treatment, describes methods and materials to remove excessive manganese, and gives recommendations to utilities on operational considerations, water quality goals and testing. (Annotation ©2007 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

Performance modification via membrane stretching.

This report tests the hypothesis that by stretching microfiltration of ultrafiltration membranes their flux and rejection performance would be improved due to changing the aspect ratio of the materials' pores. The researchers found their hypothesis to be correct, and here they describe the previous work upon which they based their hypothesis, experimental methods and materials, results of experiments with various materials, the raw data, and their conclusions. (Annotation ©2007 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

Potential techniques for the assessment of joints in water distribution pipelines. (CD-ROM included)

This publication features a sponsored study through the Awwa Research Foundation whose aim was to identify and document key problems associated with the failure of joints in water distribution pipelines and investigate and report on the performance of existing and emerging techniques for their location, condition assessment, and testing and repair. Also discussed is how this information can be used by utility organizations. Coverage includes non-intrusive and intrusive techniques for detection; external, internal, and in pipe ultrasonic techniques for assessment; potential joint rehabilitation; leakage detection; understanding joint behavior; a utility survey; and a review of metallic, mineral based, and plastic pipe materials and jointing techniques in the US, UK, and Europe. A CD contains the appendices and the decision support tool for selecting appropriate technologies (covered in the final chapter). There is no index. (Annotation ©2007 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

Seasonal chlorination practices and impacts to chloraminating utilities.

Conducted by researchers at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and the University of North Carolina, this study investigates whether a periodic switch from a chloramine residual to a free chlorine residual is sufficient for long-term control of nitrification within a chloraminated distribution system. Higher levels of disinfection by- product concentrations following a switch to free chlorine suggest utilities may be better served by careful maintenance of their ammonia feed such that nitrification episodes are minimized. The report also evaluates how tuberculated cast iron, new cast iron, epoxy-coated cast iron, and PVC pipe materials affect nitrifying biofilm consortia. Black and white graphs of field sampling results are provided along with several color photographs. (Annotation ©2007 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

Susceptibility of distribution systems to negative pressure transients.

This report describes characteristics of water distribution systems that may cause or contribute to transient low and negative pressures (as found in hydraulic modeling), examines those pressures in distributions systems and identifies ways to minimize such pressure situations. The report examines 16 distribution systems across the US through a computerized "surge model," describes monitoring of those systems through models' pressure monitors, and recommends ways to use the surge model to minimize such pressure problems. The characteristics under study include system size, water source, operating pressure, pumping capacity in operation, system configuration, variations in topography, presence of distribution surge facilities and of combination air release/vacuum relief valves and the presence of other systems such as tanks or pumps. The illustrations are especially helpful. (Annotation ©2007 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

Use of toxicological and chemical models to prioritize DBP (disinfection by-products) research.

While epidemiological data have indicated an association between the consumption of chlorinated water and an increased risk of certain cancers, it has been difficult to determine which of the many disinfection by-products (DBPs) might be to blame. In the interests of establishing research priorities, this report summarizes the results of an AWWA-sponsored study aimed at identifying those DBPs that are most likely to account for adverse health effects. Quantitative structure-toxicity relationship (QSTR) analysis was one of the primary tools used in the study. The volume is not indexed. (Annotation ©2007 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

Water residuals and biosolids; effect of co-application on soil phosphorus.

Both by-products of municipal treatment processes, water treatment residuals and biosolids have been studied separately with the aim of identifying their possible uses in efforts to improve soil quality. This volume presents the results of an Awwa-sponsored study investigating the effects of their simultaneous application on the phosphorus dynamics of native rangeland soil. The study looked at the long-lasting effects of a single co-application as well as the short- term impacts of repeated co-applications. The authors are affiliated with the Department of Soil and Crop Sciences at Colorado State U. (Annotation ©2007 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)