Seasonal transitions can bring new challenges, such as changes in demand patterns and average water age in the distribution system. This is where remote water quality monitoring systems can offer unique advantages. Using real-time data, these systems can provide critical insights—enabling WTPs to fine-tune treatment processes, maintain regulatory compliance and reduce the risk of water quality shifts that can impact customers.
Seasonal Impacts on Water Quality
There are multiple ways that seasonal changes can impact water quality both in the source water and within the distribution system.
Temperature
In warmer months, rising temperatures can cause chlorine or other disinfectants to degrade more quickly, potentially leaving parts of the system farthest from the treatment plant without sufficient disinfectant concentration. Remote water quality sensors provide real-time data on chlorine residual levels, empowering operators to respond immediately to ensure compliance and safeguard public health. Conversely, during colder months, operators can utilize real-time water quality data to optimize disinfectant usage by adding only what is needed.
Water Age
As water sits, it becomes more susceptible to biological growth, as well as the potential for corrosion, which can trigger lead or copper leaching. Across much of the U.S., seasonal shifts in consumption dramatically impact water demand. For example, colder weather reduces the need for irrigation, especially in agricultural areas. In summer months, water demand decreases in areas with college campuses. Such declines in consumption often increase the water age in many parts of the distribution system, creating ideal conditions for stagnation. To address these challenges, utilities often need to increase chemical treatments, ensuring water safety and quality.
Turbidity
Seasonal spikes or declines in water demand can be equally as challenging for treatment processes. After sitting dormant for a long period, water sources—as well as storage systems including water towers and reservoirs—can suddenly kick up settled sediment, causing turbidity and other issues. In response, operators may need to add or increase coagulants. Additionally, a surge in demand can reduce filter contact times, which may inadvertently affect water quality downstream. Proactive adjustments are key to maintaining optimal treatment and ensuring consistent quality.
Rain Events
For surface water systems, spikes in precipitation can have a range of effects on water quality, including increased turbidity, higher concentration of total organic carbon (TOC), and elevated nitrate levels from agricultural runoff. Each of these requires its own adjustment to treatment processes, such as increased settling times in clarifiers or reduced contact time in carbon filters. It is essential that operators have ample warning of incoming changes prior to water reaching the plant so they can make timely, precise adjustments.
Organic Content
Seasonal vegetation growth and decay can elevate organic material in water sources at specific times of the year, significantly affecting the amount of TOC that operators must treat. While these changes are often anticipated, operators who have advanced warning and more precise data on source water TOC are in a better position to fine-tune their response, avoiding the risk of over- or under-correcting.
Biological Events
Algal blooms and similar biological events can disrupt water treatment processes, posing significant challenges for operators. Real-time water quality data is critical—not only to provide early warning of such events but also to ensure treatment adjustments are effectively removing harmful biological contaminants. Sensors in the system can also monitor non-harmful secondary effects, such as color, turbidity, taste and odor.
Ensuring Compliance
Maintaining compliance with local, state and federal regulations is a key benefit of remote water quality monitoring. For example, temperature fluctuations can affect the required dose of chlorine or other disinfectants. With real-time data from sensors, operators can quickly detect changes in disinfectant residuals and proactively adjust dosing. This ensures disinfectant levels stay within regulatory limits.
The presence of disinfection byproducts (DBPs) is another critical consideration in water treatment, especially as seasonal demands require increased chlorine and/or TOC. The combination can lead to elevated levels of DBPs, many of which are heavily regulated. Real-time monitoring provides timely insights that allow operators to mitigate DBP formation by changing treatment processes, managing source water blends or increasing coagulant dosages. In addition to meeting internal compliance requirements, data from water quality sensors can be invaluable for regulatory reporting, providing documented proof that operators responded appropriately to environmental shifts.
Boosting Operational Efficiency
Real-time water quality monitoring enhances operational efficiency by allowing operators to respond dynamically to seasonal changes. For instance, as disinfectant demand increases or decreases, operators can adjust dosing to avoid over-application, which reduces chemical waste and saves money. Plus, unlike taking grab samples, real-time remote monitoring delivers up-to-the-minute data, ensuring timely and informed decision-making.
Water quality sensors can also help optimize energy-intensive processes, such as pumping and aeration, which can vary with seasonal demand. When water consumption decreases in colder months, sensors help detect areas with extended water age, enabling targeted flushing or booster pump adjustments that minimize stagnation without excessive energy usage. This reduces unnecessary operational expenditure and can extend the lifespan of infrastructure.
Maintaining Trust
Seasonal changes present unique challenges to water quality, sometimes requiring swift adjustments to treatment processes and the distribution network. Remote water quality monitoring systems provide essential, real-time data, allowing operators to respond quickly to shifts in temperature and turbidity, TOC, and more. This not only helps maintain compliance and operational efficiency but also enhances customer trust by ensuring consistent water quality. By leveraging advanced monitoring tools, water utilities are better equipped to meet regulatory demands, reduce operational costs and deliver reliable, high-quality water year-round.
