Best Practice Guide On The Control Of Arsenic In Drinking Water

Best Practice Guide on the Control of Arsenic in Drinking Water

Arsenic in drinking water derived from groundwater is arguably the biggest environmental chemical human health risk known at the present time, with well over 100,000,000 people around the world being exposed. Monitoring the hazard, assessing exposure and health risks and implementing effective remediation are therefore key tasks for organisations and individuals with responsibilities related to the supply of safe, clean drinking water. Best Practice Guide on the Control of Arsenic in Drinking Water, covering aspects of hazard distribution, exposure, health impacts, biomonitoring and remediation, including social and economic issues, is therefore a very timely contribution to disseminating useful knowledge in this area. The volume contains 10 short reviews of key aspects of this issue, supplemented by a further 14 case studies, each of which focusses on a particular area or technological or other practice, and written by leading experts in the field. Detailed selective reference lists provide pointers to more detailed guidance on relevant practice. The volume includes coverage of (i) arsenic hazard in groundwater and exposure routes to humans, including case studies in USA, SE Asia and UK; (ii) health impacts arising from exposure to arsenic in drinking water and biomonitoring approaches; (iii) developments in the nature of regulation of arsenic in drinking water; (iv) sampling and monitoring of arsenic, including novel methodologies; (v) approaches to remediation, particularly in the context of water safety planning, and including case studies from the USA, Italy, Poland and Bangladesh; and (vi) socio-economic aspects of remediation, including non-market valuation methods and local community engagement.

Best Practice Guide on the Control of Arsenic in Drinking Water

Best Practice Guide on the Control of Iron and Manganese in Water Supply

This Best Practice Guide on the Control of Iron and Manganese in Water Supply is one of a series produced by the International Water Association’s Specialist Group on Metals and Related Substances in Drinking Water. Iron and manganese are often found in soft upland water sources associated with natural organic matter and are also commonly found in the groundwater abstracted from confined and unconfined aquifers. The presence of iron and manganese in water is one of the most frequent reasons for customers’ complaint due to aesthetic issues (yellow, brown and black or stains on laundry and plumbing fixtures). These two metals can be removed fairly readily by physico-chemical treatment. The municipal treatment systems deployed derive benefit from their larger scale, particularly in relation to control, but the processes used are less suitable for the numerous small supplies that are the most common water supplies throughout Europe, especially in rural areas. One important source of iron in drinking water is from old corroded cast-iron water mains, historically the material used most commonly in supply networks. Replacement and refurbishment is very expensive and the major challenge is how best to prioritize available expenditure. The purpose for this Best Practice Guide on the Control of Iron and Manganese in Water Supply is to give readers the broad view of a problem based on state-of-the-art compilation of the range of scientific, engineering, regulatory and operational issues concerned with the control of iron and manganese in drinking water. The Guide is of interest to water utility practitioners, health agencies and policy makers, as well as students on civil engineering and environmental engineering courses. Authors: Dr Adam Postawa, AGH University of Science and Technology, Faculty of Geology, Geophysics and Environment Protection, Krakow, Poland and Dr Colin R Hayes, University of Swansea, UK, Chair of IWA Specialist Group on Metals and Related Substances in Drinking Water.