Evaluating the feasibility of a mobile drinking water laboratory for rural water treatment plants to improve water quality and reduce costs

In 2007, about 20% of all legal violations in the United States drinking water industry were of the THMs MCL under Stage 1 of the Disinfectant and DBP rule. Of these violations, 84% were at rural WTP that served less than 10,000 people. Thus, THMs violations disproportionally affect rural WTP. The WTP serving rural counties are federally required to provide safe drinking water at the same standards as their urban counterparts, but unfortunately do not have access to the same analytical capabilities needed ensure they meet these regulations. This proposal aims to address rural development and access to routine THMs measurements, improve water quality, and reduce energy and chemical costs. We propose the development of a cooperative that will provide rural WTPs the same access to high tech, on-site monitoring programs of THM concentrations that are available to large metropolitan systems. Most rural WTP have distribution systems spread out over large geographical regions with lower populations resulting in less demand. Because of these factors, drinking water ages in the distribution system and problems with THMs become more pronounced. Operators at these WTP would benefit greatly from access to routine and hourly THMs monitoring.In this proposed work, we evaluate the feasibility of using a THM-RR system housed in a mobile laboratory that can be shared between members of a rural cooperative. In practice, the mobile THM-RR laboratory will be on-site at each cooperative WTP member for approximately 10 days per month. During that period, the empirical model for estimating Total THMs will be calibrated and then used to predict Total THMs concentrations for the remaining part of the month. In this fashion, the mobile THM-RR laboratory will rotate amongst the cooperative members, maintaining the calibration of their site-specific models and providing valuable on-site THMs concentrations data. This combination of real measurements and site-specific predictive modeling will enable the rural WTP to optimize their treatment practices, minimize their treatment costs, and improve water quality for their customers. Ultimately, our proposed THM-RR mobile laboratory will improve the quality of life for rural communities by providing them a safer and more aesthetically pleasing supply of public drinking water.