Course: BFM 203 Water Treatment and Control

Lecture

(6/7)

Treatment Methods

Operators must carefully analyze the source of taste and odor issues and can use a number of treatment methods depending on the situation.

Improved coagulation, flocculation, and sedimentation processes after reservoir turnover or high flow runoff may result in better settling of high turbidity water. Aeration processes (air blowers, cascade or spray aerators, or air stripping) remove gasses and volatile organic compounds. Oxidation processes chemically modify objectionable compounds or break them down into less objectionable byproducts. These processes include use of chlorine, potassium permanganate, ozone, or chlorine dioxide. Aeration and oxidation add costs to the treatment process, but they may reduce overall costs associated with distribution system flushing and customer complaint resolution.

Adsorption processes (the process of removing materials from water by adding a material to the water to which the taste- and odor-producing compounds will attach themselves) may be used for treatment. These processes may include the use of powder activated carbon (PAC) or granular activated carbon (GAC).