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Newsletter #117 for June 2025 |
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The USEPA Office of Ground Water and Drinking Water has announced the availability of grant funding from the Emerging Contaminants in Small or Disadvantaged Communities (EC-SDC) grant program for states and territories to help public water systems in small and disadvantaged communities address PFAS and emerging contaminants problems. Funded with approximately $1 billion annually for five years, the program will help small and disadvantaged communities address the challenges of PFAS in drinking water and address any contaminant listed in any of EPA’s Contaminant Candidate Lists.
Eligible projects include:
- Efforts to address emerging contaminants in drinking water that would benefit a small or disadvantaged community on a per household basis
- Technical assistance to evaluate emerging contaminant problems
- Programs to provide household water-quality testing, including testing for unregulated contaminants
- Local contractor training
- Activities necessary and appropriate for a state to respond to an emerging contaminant
States and territories will collaborate with the EPA regional offices on draft projects and workplans for approval prior to applying for grant funding in Grants.gov. Water systems or municipalities interested in this program should contact the appropriate regional or state contact for any questions. |
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Researchers at Stevens Institute of Technology have developed a novel method for removing PFOS (perfluorooctane sulfonate or perfluorooctane sulfonic acid) from water sources. Both PFOS types have been shown to cause health issues when consumed, and due to those concerns, water treatment plants, commonly use activated carbon to remove PFOS. In comparison, the industrial wastewater sector utilizes, microscale zero-valent iron (mZVI), which is a type of iron powder, to remove toxic, hard to treat pollutants like PFAS and Chromium.
Since the cost of iron powder is much less compared to activated carbon, researchers from this study wanted to compare the adsorption potency of the two methods to identify which would be a more effective solution for PFAS removal in water. The research, which is highlighted in Environmental Science & Technology, found that iron powder was 26 times more effective than activated carbon per unit surface area. Additionally, even when the iron powder began to rust from being in water, its adsorption properties weren’t significantly affected. Although, iron powder is not a suitable process for drinking water treatment, it may serve as an cost effective method for PFOS removal in wastewater or for remediation purposes. Researchers are going to continue to investigate mZVI's PFOS removal mechanisms to develop large scale treatment systems. |
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Across the U.S., more wastewater treatment plants are beginning to implement treatment processes that produce Renewable Natural Gas (RNG) to lower energy costs and to move towards a circular water economy. The Circular Water Economy is a sustainable water management model that eliminates waste by treating wastewater as a valuable resource from which reusable water, clean energy, and nutrients can be recovered and reintegrated into the system. For example, by recovering methane produced during anaerobic digestion and purifying the gas, it serves as a viable substitute for natural gas. This not only reduces emissions but also enhances the resilience and efficiency of wastewater systems.
The process to produce RNG during wastewater treatment:
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Collection & Anaerobic Digestion: Organic material in wastewater is separated and placed in anaerobic digesters. These oxygen-free environments promote microbial activity that breaks down the waste and produces biogas.
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Gas Capture & Purification: This raw biogas is composed of about 60–65% methane. The remaining impurities, including water vapor, hydrogen sulfide and CO₂, are removed in a series of purification treatment steps.
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Conversion to RNG: After purification, the remaining methane meets pipeline standards and becomes RNG. It is chemically similar to conventional natural gas and suitable for injection into existing natural gas distribution systems or for compression and used as a vehicle fuel.
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Distribution & Use: RNG can serve various energy needs, including powering municipal fleets, long-haul trucks, industrial boilers, and even electricity generation. Unlike solar or wind, RNG is dispatchable, available 24/7, regardless of weather or time of day.
While the landfill sector has moved quickly to develop RNG projects, wastewater systems have been slower to adapt these processes. As more utilities start considering the Circular Water Economy, RNG from wastewater emerges as a practical and impactful solution.
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Artificial intelligence (AI) is rapidly emerging as a transformative tool for the water industry, offering powerful new tools to predict and mitigate contamination risks before they become public health issues. By leveraging machine learning algorithms to analyze vast amounts of real-time data from sensors throughout a water system, subtle changes in water quality parameters like pressure, flow, and chemical composition can be detected and tracked. This allows utilities to identify the precise location of potential contamination events, such as pipe breaks or intrusions, enabling rapid, targeted maintenance. This technology not only enhances the safety and security of a water supply but also helps optimize operational efficiency, reduce water loss, and ensure compliance and public protection. |
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Upcoming Events
A listing of webinars, symposia, and conferences relevant to this work. |
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Innovative Applications for Cloth Media Filtration
July 9, 2025 / Virtual 12:00 - 12:45 Eastern Time Zone
Water Environment Foundation
This webinar will showcase how cloth media filters are being used in cutting-edge ways—from advanced primary and wet weather treatment to tackling emerging contaminants like microplastics, micropollutants, and heavy metals. |
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Microgrids for Water Utilities
August 7, 2025 / 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM Mountain Time Zone
American Water Works Association
This webinar will explore the challenges water utilities face from Black Sky Events, and highlights how microgrids, a small, self-contained power grid with its own energy sources that can operate independently or connect to the main electrical grid, can provide a reliable backup power solution. |
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Drinking Water | Open Access
Shark skin-inspired surface designs for drag reduction in drinking water distribution pipes
Chehrghani M., Yntema D., Matthews D., Rooij M., Zanjani J. 2025. Shark skin-inspired surface designs for drag reduction in drinking water distribution pipes. Water Research. 284. doi:10.1016/j.watres.2025.123965.
Why it's interesting: This study explores an innovative nature-inspired method for improving the energy efficiency of drinking water distribution systems by using circular pipes with inner surfaces modeled after shark skin. Researchers analyzed how adding "riblets", which are tiny, blade-like grooves, inside circular pipes of various diameters can impact the frictional drag that causes significant energy loss during turbulent water flow. By 3D printing these microscopic structures directly onto the inner pipe surfaces, the research team was able to achieve a drag reduction of up to 6%. The study also analyzed how the riblets' performance changed with different pipe sizes and groove dimensions, leading to the development of a predictive model that can help design the most effective riblet patterns for specific pipe diameters.
This research is informative for water systems as it provides a practical roadmap for pumping energy consumption, which is a major operational cost for utilities. This allows utilities to implement a passive, reliable solution to reduce energy costs and enhance the overall sustainability of their water distribution networks. |
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Wastewater | Not Open Access
Unlocking the potential of down-flow hanging sponge reactors for integrated nutrient management
Singh A., Soga Y., Tyagi V., Singh R., Chhoden K., Watari T., Okubo T., Ojha C.S.P., Kazmi A.A., Chauhan S.K. 2025. Unlocking the potential of down-flow hanging sponge reactors for integrated nutrient management. Journal of Environmental Chemical Engineering. 13(5). doi:10.1016/j.jece.2025.117591.
Why it's interesting: This study reviews the Downflow Hanging Sponge (DHS) reactor, which is a promising, low-energy technology for nutrient management in wastewater treatment. DHS systems utilize highly porous sponges that provide a large surface area for microbial growth, enabling efficient organic and nutrient removal with significantly less sludge production and energy use compared to conventional methods. The reactor's design naturally creates aerobic zones on the sponge exteriors and anoxic or anaerobic zones in the core, promoting simultaneous nitrification and denitrification within a single unit. Additionally, process improvements such as integrating complete ammonia oxidation (Comammox) microorganisms, functionalizing sponge materials for better adsorption, and combining DHS with existing systems like anaerobic digesters are further enhancing its performance.
Full-scale studies in India have demonstrated that adding a DHS unit to an existing Up-flow Anaerobic Sludge Blanket (UASB) reactor significantly improved nitrogen removal and overall effluent quality. Additionally, it's simple design makes it particularly well-suited for both decentralized treatment in developing regions and for upgrading existing facilities cost-effectively. By optimizing operational parameters and material design, DHS technology presents a scalable and sustainable solution to meet stringent nutrient discharge requirements.
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Drinking Water | Open Access
Biological ion exchange for natural organic matter removal from drinking water
Zimmermann K., Schoutteten K., Liu Z., Chen W., Bérubé P., Mohseni M., Barbeau B. 2025. Biological ion exchange for natural organic matter removal from drinking water. Water Research. 283. doi:10.1016/j.watres.2025.123722.
Why it's interesting: This study evaluated the potential for biological ion exchange (BIEX) to serve as a low-maintenance, long-term solution for removing natural organic matter (NOM) from drinking water. NOM is an issue for drinking water treatment as their presence in drinking water can cause taste and odor issues, reduce filter efficiency, interfere with UV disinfection, and react with chlorine to produce DBPs. Conventional ion exchange (IEX) filters have been able to remove NOM by up to 90%, but requires the filters to be regenerated with brine weekly, increasing operational costs, and requiring appropriate waste disposal.
This study found that by simply allowing IEX filters to operate past chloride exhaustion, water systems can take advantage of continuing NOM removal through a combination of sulphate-based secondary IEX and bio-removal mechanisms. This new operational strategy, biological IEX, or "BIEX", is highly useful for small or rural water systems, as it dramatically reduces the need for frequent and costly brine regeneration. |
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