Several reviews of treatment methodologies for control of off-flavors in drinking water have recently been published. This paper builds on these reviews, adding new information developed by the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California and other research groups.
The most important tool in any program to control off-flavors is a reliable, reproducible, easy-to-use analytical method. It is difficult to control off-flavor problems unless the off-flavor compound is identified or a sensory technique is used. From a cost perspective, most off-flavors can be best controlled at the source. Treatment methods, particularly those utilizing chemicals and activated carbon, are effective but expensive, and they can lead to secondary problems that are more objectionable than the off-flavor.
The public notification requirements of violations of maximum contaminant levels (MCLs) in drinking water were evaluated through a scientific sampling of residents of 15 California communities. Each community had recently notified consumers of an MCL violation. The sampling assessed public awareness of the notification, the effects the media used had on awareness and knowledge of the problem and recommended solutions to the problem, and the attitude of the respondents regarding the notification requirement and its effectiveness. This assessment of the value of the requirement points to ways in which the stated objectives could be reached more successfully.
Eight California surveys were conducted to estimate the percentage of consumers who knowingly received notification in each community and who understood the problem requiring notification, to obtain from consumers an evaluation of the general worth of such notifications, and to develop recommendations regarding the method and content of future consumer notifications.
The author expresses his opinion on the effect that the mandatory public notification provision of the Safe Drinking Water Act will have upon water utilities and consumers.
Although the 1986 SDWA amendments made dramatic changes, primarily in the number of water quality regulations, the flurry of regulatory activity that started in late 1992 with the regulatory‐negotiation (reg‐neg) process has now died down. The reg neg eventually resulted in proposals for the Information Collection Rule (ICR), the Disinfectants/Disinfection By‐Products (D/DBP) Rule, and the Enhanced Surface Water Treatment Rule (ESWTR), but since these rules were proposed in early 1994, the regulatory process has slowly been grinding to a halt. The author suggests that given the regulatory gridlock in Washington, DC, perhaps this is the time to seize the moment and become a more self‐regulating industry.
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