Impact of source waters, disinfectants, seasons and treatment approaches on trihalomethanes in drinking water: a comparison based on the size of municipal systems

• Published in: Water and Environment Journal
• Main Author: Chowdhury, Shakhawat
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Wiley 2012
• Subjects: Management, Monitoring, Policy and Law; Pollution; Water Science and Technology; Environmental Engineering; Newfoundland
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1747-6593.2012.00342.x; https://api.wiley.com/onlinelibrary/tdm/v1/articles/10.1111%2Fj.1747-6593.2012.00342.x; https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/j.1747-6593.2012.00342.x

Abstract This study compares concentrations of trihalomethanes ( THM s) in municipal water for 2001–2007 from the small and large systems in two provinces in C anada ( N ewfoundland and Q uebec) based on source waters, disinfectants, seasons and treatment approaches. Approximately 71 and 94%, respectively, of the municipal systems in Quebec and Newfoundland are small systems (serving fewer than 3000 people). The small systems serve approximately 8.6% (0.57 million) and 44.1% (0.18 million) of the populations in Quebec and Newfoundland, respectively. Concentrations of THM s and its variability are much higher in the small systems (Quebec: 0–941 μg/L; Newfoundland: 0–875 μg/L) than in the systems with populations 10 000 or more (Quebec: 0–364 μg/L; Newfoundland: 2.3–205 μg/L). The study reveals that the differences in THM s between the small and medium/large systems are because of different types of source waters, treatments, disinfection strategies and seasons. The results emphasize that regulatory agencies must focus more on the occurrence of DBP s in small systems and identify strategies to reduce their levels in drinking water.