Full Description

A random selection of 186 water utilities was used for this study in which raw and finished water samples were collected from each facility five times throughout a year and analyzed for iron and aluminum by atomic absorption techniques. The water samples were categorized by the supply source (ground, surface, or a combination of both), the type of water (raw, finished, or untreated distribution samples), and the type of coagulation used in the treatment process (aluminum sulfate, ferric chloride, other coagulants such as cationic polymers, or no coagulant). The samples were also categorized according to the 10 USEPA regions and 4 population categories. The results indicate that aluminum is more likely to exist in surface waters than in groundwaters. Only 9 percent of the groundwaters had detectable amounts of aluminum, whereas 78 percent of the surface waters had detectable aluminum. The data also indicate that when alum is used for coagulation, there is a 40 to 50 percent chance that the concentration of aluminum will increase above the original concentration in raw water. In the few facilities that used iron as a coagulant, the concentrations of iron and aluminum decreased. Includes 16 references, tables, figures.

Product Details

Edition: Vol. 76 - No. 1 Published: 01/01/1984 Number of Pages: 8 File Size: 1 file , 1.6 MB