Abstract

Abstract. Maintaining residual chlorine levels in a water distribution network is a challenging task, especially in the context of developing countries where water is usually supplied intermittently. To model chlorine decay in water distribution networks, it is very important to understand chlorine kinetics in bulk water. Recent studies have suggested that chlorine decay rate depends on initial chlorine levels and the type of organic and inorganic matter present in water, indicating that a first-order decay model is unable to accurately predict chlorine decay in bulk water. In this study, we employed the two-reactant (2R) model to estimate the fast and slow reacting components in surface water and groundwater. We carried out a bench-scale test for surface water and groundwater at initial chlorine levels of 1, 2, and 5 mg L−1. We used decay data sets to estimate optimal parameter values for both surface water and groundwater. After calibration, the 2R model was validated with two decay data sets with varying initial chlorine concentrations (ICCs). This study arrived at three important findings. (a) We found that the ratio of slow to fast reacting components in groundwater was 30 times greater than that of the surface water. This observation supports the existing literature which indicates the presence of high levels of slow reacting fractions (manganese and aromatic hydrocarbons) in groundwater. (b) Both for surface water and groundwater, we obtained good model prediction, explaining 97 % of the variance in data for all cases. The mean square error obtained for the decay data sets was close to the instrument error, indicating the feasibility of the 2R model for chlorine prediction in both types of water. (c) In the case of deep groundwater, for high ICC levels (> 2 mg L−1), the first-order model can accurately predict chlorine decay in bulk water.

Highlights

  • The presence of 0.2 mg L−1 of residual chlorine in drinking water is known to reduce public health risks significantly (Arnold and Colford, 2007; Pattanayak et al, 2005)

  • This study aims to estimate the chlorine decay parameters using the 2R model relevant to local conditions found in southern India, where hard rock aquifers are abundant, and compare them with surface water parameters

  • The data present two interesting findings: (i) the decay rate decreases with an increase in initial chlorine levels and (ii) the chlorine decay rate in surface water is greater than that of groundwater

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Summary

Introduction

The presence of 0.2 mg L−1 of residual chlorine in drinking water is known to reduce public health risks significantly (Arnold and Colford, 2007; Pattanayak et al, 2005). One of the key tasks of water managers worldwide, especially in developing nations, is to maintain residual chlorine levels of drinking water in distribution systems This requires a higher concentration at entry point in order to ensure that a minimal residual chlorine concentration of 0.2 mg L−1 is retained at any point of time before reaching the end consumers. Any excessive addition of chlorine to water leads to harmful by-products which pose risks to public health It becomes very important for water managers to optimize the dose of chlorine added to water, ensuring that the right level of residual chlorine is retained in distribution networks (Hrudey, 2009; Richardson, 2003; Singer, 1999)

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