Water Quality Monitoring in Distribution Systems: A Progress Report

A prototype water-quality monitoring system uses experimental electronics to detect and control water deterioration in water-distribution systems. Management and engineers in the water utility industry generally assume that the quality of water leaving the treatment plant deteriorates in quality before it is delivered at the consumer's tap. Although the nature and magnitude of the change cannot be determined easily with conventional laboratory techniques, electroanalytical sensor technology, which has advanced significantly during recent years, can be used for continuous waterquality data acquisition. For the past 3 yr, a research staff at the National Sanitation Foundation, (NSF) in Ann Arbor, Mich., has been developing basic scientific criteria and specifications for a continuous monitoring system for use in detection and control of quality deterioration in potable water distribution systems, and in quality control of water purification processes. The NSF Water Quality Monitoring Project is an outgrowth of a recommendation from the AWWA Research Com. that instrumentation should be developed for measuring corrosion and stability,' and has been supported since its inception by the Office of Water Programs of EPA. Specific aims of the project include