UV disinfection of small ground water supplies

Abstract

Ultraviolet light treatment is safe, effective, and cost‐competitive for small systems that do not require residual disinfection.The US Environmental Protection Agency has critically analyzed disinfection technologies available to small public water systems. Future groundwater disinfection requirements are expected to affect many public groundwater supplies, including a large number of very small noncommunity systems. Because small water systems generally have fewer technical and financial resources to cope with new requirements, they will need the simplest and lowest‐cost techniques that enable them to comply with new drinking water standards. To address this issue, the agency studied ultraviolet light technology. This article summarizes availability, efficacy, operability, and costs of this technology as an option for small systems.