Public Groundwater Supplies Research Articles

UV disinfection of small ground water supplies

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.

Prioritization of ground water contaminants and sources

The objective of this research was to identify chemical, physical, bacteriological, and viral contaminants, and their sources, which present the greatest health threat in public ground water supplies in the USA; and to classify (prioritize) such contaminants and relative to their health concerns. The developed contaminant prioritization methodology was based on frequency of occurrence and adverse health effects. Adverse health effects were based on carcinogenic potency, toxicity, hazardous chemical priorities and drinking water standards. Application of the methodology for wellhead protection areas, (WHPAs) revealed that approximately 200 different contaminants have been detected in the nation's public ground water supplies. The seven chemical constituents with the highest priority were arsenic, chromium, cadmium, carbon tetrachloride, chloroform, 1, 1-dichloroethylene, and ethylene dibromide. Other contaminants of concern were trichloroethylene, nitrates, barium, 1,1,1-trichloroethane, benzene, tetrachloroethylene, selenium, lead, toluene, mercury, gross alpha radiation, methylene chloride, coliform bacteria, metolachlor, metribuzin, 1, 1, 2, 2-tetrachloroethane, dibromochloroethane, simazine, radium-266, and toxaphene. The contaminant source prioritization methodology was also based on frequency of occurrence. Over 30 categories of sources were evaluated, with the eight with highest priority including agricultural activities, hazardous waste sites, landfills, industrial operations, septic tank systems, oil and gas field activities, urban land use, and underground storage tanks.

Ground water contaminants and their sources—a review of state reports

Pursuant to section 305(B) of the Clean Water Act of 1987, each state submits biennially a water quality report to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). This paper contains a review of 42 such reports in relation to public ground water supplies. Nineteen states provided monitoring data on a total of 51 organic and 21 inorganic chemicals. Frequently detected contaminants included nitrates, trichloroethylene (TCE), volatile organic compounds (VOCs), arsenic, and fluorides. The most frequently identified contaminant sources were underground storage tanks (35 states), septic tank systems (31), surface impoundments (29), municipal landfills (27), agricultural activities (26), abandoned hazardous waste sites (24), regulated hazardous waste sites (19), land application/treatment (18), injection wells (18), and on‐site industrial and other landfills (16). A total of 146 organic and 30 inorganic chemicals were identified as potential contaminants by 35 states. This composite analysis indicates widespread...

Contamination of public ground water supplies by Superfund sites

Multiple sources of contamination can affect ground water supplies, including municipal landfills, industrial operations, leaking underground storage tanks, septic tank systems, and prioritized uncontrolled hazardous waste sites known as “Superfund” sites. A review of Superfund Records of Decision (RODs) in the United States was conducted in this study to obtain information concerning incidents of public ground water supply contamination. Approximately 450 separate RODs or their abstracts were reviewed, and 49 cases with municipal water well contamination were identified. In addition to the 49 pertinent cases, a significant number of RODs listed contaminated ground water as a potential threat to local public water supply wells. The 49 cases were geographically distributed in 21 states throughout the United States. The main source of contamination was industrial operations and other activities associated with industries. In 34 of 49 relevant Superfund cases, industry and related activities were identified ...

Protecting public groundwater supplies

Protecting public groundwater supplies

Protecting public groundwater supplies

Protecting public groundwater supplies

Sanitation Manual for Public Ground Water Supplies

Sanitation Manual for Public Ground Water Supplies