A rapid and effective detection method is essential for water utilities to monitor variability of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) in source waters in order to apply strategies to minimize formation of disinfection by-products in treated waters. Ultraviolet absorbance at 254 nm (UVA 254 ) and specific UVA 254 (SUVA 254 ) have been widely used as surrogates of concentration and reactivity of DOC, respectively. However, poor correlations between SUVA 254 and specific trihalomethane formation potential (STHMFP) have been occasionally reported and the reliability of using SUVA 254 to predict trihalomethane (THM) formation has been questioned. In this study, the correlations of SUVA 254 and THM reactivity of three different DOC sources commonly found in water treatment facilities (aquatic carbon, soil carbon, and fecal matter) were evaluated. A 0.22 mm filter, instead of 0.45 mm filter, was used for water filtration to minimize the effects of colloidal materials on UVA 254 . UVA 254 and DOC after chlorination were also examined and differential UVA 254 and SUVA 254 (DSUVA 254 ) were compared to THM reactivity. Results showed correlations between UVA 254 and DOC were source dependent suggesting natural humification and degradation processes did not alter DOC characteristics from its original sources. The STHMFP of river and soil DOC samples were comparable, whereas their UVA 254 normalized THMFP were different ( p , 0.05), suggesting that UVA 254 is a better indicator in predicting THM formation potential than DOC concentrations. DSUVA 254 showed a stronger correlation with STHMFP than the conventional surrogate-SUVA 254 .
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