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Estimating costs for nitrate and perchlorate treatment for small drinking water systems
Author(s) -
Khera Rajiv,
Ransom Pat,
Guttridge Mark,
Speth Thomas F.
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
awwa water science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 2577-8161
DOI - 10.1002/aws2.1224
Subject(s) - perchlorate , nitrate , water treatment , water quality , environmental science , agency (philosophy) , maximum contaminant level , environmental engineering , chemistry , ion , ecology , philosophy , organic chemistry , epistemology , biology
When choosing a treatment technology for nitrate or perchlorate removal, drinking water utilities overwhelmingly choose ion exchange. However, of late, biological treatment and point‐of‐use systems have received a great deal of attention. This article utilizes several new U.S. Environmental Protection Agency models to estimate the cost of nitrate and perchlorate treatment for small drinking water systems. The analysis here shows that, when comparing the three technologies for a typical set of design choices and drinking water quality conditions, the least‐cost option varies among the three depending on system size. This relationship varies with changes to the water quality and design factors such as, but not restricted to, influent nitrate and perchlorate concentrations, the choice of residual management options, and the presence of co‐contaminants and competing ions. Article Impact Statement Small systems that struggle with nitrate and perchlorate contamination will benefit from this evaluation of treatment costs.