• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
• /
• v.46 no.5
• /
• pp.513-524
• /
• 2020

Objective: The main purpose of this study is to evaluate the environmental and biological exposure of local residents who consumed arsenic-contaminated drinking water for less than one year. Methods: As a part of water quality inspections for small-scale water supply facilities, surveys were conducted of residents of two villages that exceeded the arsenic threshold for drinking water. The environmental impact survey consisted of surveys on water quality, soil, and crops in the surveyed area. Biological monitoring was performed by measuring the separation of arsenic species in urine and total arsenic in hair. Results: In the results of biological monitoring, the concentrations of AsIII and AsV were 0.08 and 0.16 ㎍/L, respectively. MMA and DMA were 0.87 and 36.19 ㎍/L. There was no statistically significant difference between the group who drank arsenic-removed groundwater or water from the small-scale supply facility and the group who drank tap water, purified water, or commercial bottled water. Some of the water samples exceeded the arsenic threshold for drinking water. There were no samples in the soil or rice that exceeded the acceptable threshold. Conclusion: In the case of short-term exposure to arsenic-contaminated drinking water for less than one year, there were no significant problems of concern from the evaluation of biological monitoring after arsenic was removed.

• Environmental Engineering Research
• /
• v.18 no.2
• /
• pp.91-94
• /
• 2013

Recently Ibadan in southwestern Nigeria has been facing severe water shortage due to the increase of population, social and economic activities. In order to meet the shortfall, attempts to utilize rainwater harvesting (RWH) have been made to provide an alternative source of water supply. A desk study was conducted to review various RWH technologies locally, regionally and globally. A hydrological analysis was also carried out using rainfall data for 30 years from two meteorological stations, with the aim of providing a more sustainable RWH system for water supply to private individuals, organizations, and government agencies. RWH is found to be technically feasible based on the prevailing rainfall pattern with over 90% of households having a rooftop constructed from technically appropriate materials. Results of the study indicate that an average roof of $80m^2$ will collect 82,835 L/yr (45 L/person/day) for a family of five people which is about the required water demand for drinking and cooking purposes. Hence, the capacity of storage tanks and the catchment area required for an all-purpose water supply system based on RWH are quite large. These can be reduced to affordable sizes, by collecting and storing water for cooking and drinking only while non-potable uses are supplemented by water from other sources. However, it must be highlighted that due to the type of roofing material, rainwater should go through proper treatment in order to be used for potable purposes. This study clearly shows that Ibadan city has a good rainwater harvesting potential.

• Journal of Korean Society on Water Environment
• /
• v.24 no.4
• /
• pp.415-422
• /
• 2008

Drinking water treatment is enhanced by coagulant dosages and chlorine injection because of pH increase in raw water in droughty seasons such as spring and fall. But water quality deterioration is occurred by increase in residual aluminium and disinfection by-products. Coagulation process can be used to control natural organic matter (NOM) during water treatment. The effect of coagulation process appeared to depend on the pH of water rather than coagulant dosages. In this study, for water treatment in high pH season $H_2SO_4$ was applied for pH adjustment at full scale. Before and after pH adjustment by $H_2SO_4$ injection, water quality of drinking water was evaluate. In the result of investigation of total organic carbon (TOC) removal in high pH season, TOC was removed approximately 30~40%, which showed decrease in water treatment efficiency. Also, it is increased both particle numbers and residual Al concentration in the water. After $H_2SO_4$ injection for adjustment to pH<7.5 in settled water, treated water turbidity decreased in 0.047 NTU from 0.059 NTU, and particle numbers of filtered water decreased in 20/mL from 90/mL. On the other side, TOC removal efficiency increased in approximately 10% after adjustment of pH. In the result of decrease in pH in raw water through more coagulants and prechlorine without $H_2SO_4$ injection, trihalomethanes (THMs) concentration increased in $16{\mu}g/L$ from $8{\mu}g/L$.

• Journal of Korean Society of Water and Wastewater
• /
• v.29 no.5
• /
• pp.575-581
• /
• 2015

Although disinfection in drinking water treatment plants provides a safer water supply by inactivating pathogenic microorganisms, harmful disinfection by-products may be formed. In this study, the disinfectant, chlorine, was produced on-site from the electrolysis of salt (NaCl), and the by-products of the disinfection process, bromate and chlorate, were analyzed. The provisional guideline levels for bromate and chlorate in drinking water are $10{\mu}g/L$ and $700{\mu}g/L$, in Korea, respectively. Bromide salt was detected at concentrations ranging from 6.0 ~ 622 mg/kg. Bromate and chlorate were detected at concentrations ranging from non-detect (ND) ~ 45.3mg/L and 40.5 ~ 1,202 mg/L, respectively. When comparing the bromide concentration in the salt to the bromate concentration in the chlorine produced by salt electrolysis, the correlation of bromide to bromate concentration was 0.870 (active chlorine concentration from on-site production: 0.6-0.8%, n=40). The correlation of bromate concentration in the chlorine produced to that in the treated water was 0.866.

• Journal of Korean Society of Water and Wastewater
• /
• v.29 no.1
• /
• pp.23-31
• /
• 2015

Aquifer storage transfer and recovery (ASTR) is a type of managed aquifer recharge which entails injecting water into a storage well and recovering it from a different well. It has effects of natural purification when injected water passes through aquifer medium, and can be a good way of supplying water especially in a region with poor surface water quality. This study is about an on-going effort to introduce ASTR as a solution to source water problems in coastal areas. A pilot study is being conducted in the delta of the Nakdong River. A proactive management system is incorporated to ensure the water qulity in the process of drinking water process. The system is based on the Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) which is a tool originated from the food industry in order to assess hazards and establish control systems for the safety of food product. In this paper, we analyze hazardous events which can occur in the entire water supply system using ASTR as a first step to the incorporation of HACCP to drinking water production process.

• Journal of Environmental Impact Assessment
• /
• v.9 no.3
• /
• pp.239-248
• /
• 2000

The aggravating water quality from the expansion of industrialization along with increasing population lead to develop more intensive physical measures to secure better drinking water quality. This study was mainly initiated to establish a water-pollutant buffering zone for the upper stream basin of Paldang--the major source area of drinking water for the metropolitan Seoul and suburban areas with a population more than 13 million. Two different criteria were considered in determining the buffering distance from the edge of the streamflow : 1km-width buffer zone for the special protection area which has been strictly controlled by the conventional laws for the protection of drinking water supply, and 500m-width buffer zone for the rest of the area. To delineate the exact boundaries of the water-pollutant buffering zone, GIS database was created integrating topography, hydrography, cadastral, and other related layers. The newly designated water-pollutant buffering zone would contribute to improve the water quality in a long term along with the conservation of the wet land. More study, however, should be made within the water-pollutant buffering zone such as the detailed survey of the pollutants, vegetation, and ecosystem for more effective management of the buffering zone.

• Proceedings of the KSME Conference
• /
• 2007.05b
• /
• pp.3128-3133
• /
• 2007

The mixing method of water and chemicals is significant in a small-scale water supply system because drinking water should be supplied with a certain quantity of remaining chemicals maintained. In the present study, the concentration distribution and the mixing index were obtained from four models, which were to find out the optimal mixing method of water and chemicals. The two models brought the good mixing effects out of the four, one for providing chemicals from the center of water supply pipe and the other for setting up the semicircle block at the downstream of the chemicals-providing pipe. As a result, the mixing effect was found out to be increased due to the diffusion and the disturbance of flows. In conclusion, these results are expected to contribute to designing the optimal mixing system.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
• /
• v.48 no.1
• /
• pp.43-48
• /
• 2010

Cryptosporidium and Giardia are 2 protozoan parasites responsible for waterborne diseases outbreaks worldwide. In order to assess the prevalence of these protozoans in drinking water samples in the northern part of Portugal and the risk of human infection, we have established a long term program aiming at pinpointing the sources of surface water, drinking water, and environmental contamination, working with the water-supply industry. Total 43 sources of drinking water samples were selected, and a total of 167 samples were analyzed using the Method 1623. Sensitivity assays regarding the genetic characterization by PCR and sequencing of the genes, 18S SSU rRNA, for Cryptosporidium spp. and $\beta$, -giardin for G. duodenalis were set in the laboratory. According to the defined criteria, molecular analysis was performed over 4 samples. Environmental stages of the protozoa were detected in 25.7% (43 out of 167) of the water samples, 8.4% (14 out of 167) with cysts of Giardia, 10.2% (17 out of 167) with oocysts of Cryptosporidium and 7.2% (12 out of 167) for both species. The mean concentrations were 0.1-12.7 oocysts of Cryptosporidium spp. per 10 L and 0.1-108.3 cysts of Giardia duodenalis per 10 L. Our results suggest that the efficiency in drinking water plants must be ameliorated in their efficiency in reducing the levels of contamination. We suggest the implementation of systematic monitoring programs for both protozoa. To authors' knowledge, this is the first report evaluating the concentration of environmental stages of Cryptosporidium and Giardia in drinking water samples in the northern part of Portugal.

• Analytical Science and Technology
• /
• v.28 no.1
• /
• pp.58-64
• /
• 2015

This study aimed to investigate the concentration distributions and formation characteristics of trihalomethanes (THMs) in drinking water supplies to rural communities. Water samples were collected twice from 40 rural households located on the outskirts of Chuncheon city of Gangwon Province in the summers of 2010 and 2011, and urban drinking water samples were collected from 20 faucets during the same period in 2011 for comparison purpose. Water temperature, pH, and residual chlorine (total and free) concentrations were measured in the field, and samples were analyzed for dissolved organic carbon (DOC) and THM concentrations in the laboratory. The average DOC concentrations in rural water samples were not greatly different between groundwater (n = 20) and surface water (n = 20) which were used as sources for drinking water (1.81 vs. 1.91 mg/L). However, the average concentrations of total THMs (TTHMs) in groundwater ($9.77{\mu}g/L$) were much higher than those in surface water ($2.85{\mu}g/L$) and similar to those in urban drinking water samples ($10.8{\mu}g/L$). Unlike urban water supply, rural water (particularly groundwater) contained more brominated THM species such as dibromochloromethane (DBCM), suggesting its relatively high content of bromide ion (Br-). This study showed that rural water supplies have different THM formation characteristics from urban water supplies, probably due to their differences in source water quality properties.

• Journal of Korean Society of Water and Wastewater
• /
• v.32 no.1
• /
• pp.55-65
• /
• 2018

It is necessary to develop a mobile water production system in order to provide stable water supply in case of disasters such as floods or earthquakes. In this study, we developed a modular mobile water production system capable of producing water for various uses such as domestic water and drinking water while improving applicability in various raw water sources. The water production system consists of three stages of filtration (sand filtration - activated carbon filtration - pressure filtration) to produce domestic water and an additional reverse osmosis process to produce drinking water. In laboratory and field experiments, the domestic water production system showed excellent treatment efficiency for particulate matter, but showed limitations in the treatment of dissolved substances such as dissolved organic matter. In addition, ultraviolet irradiation was considered as additional disinfection step, because it does not form precipitates of manganese oxides after disinfection. Reverse osmosis process was added to increase the removal efficiency of dissolved substances and the treated water satisfied drinking water quality standards. Fluorescence analysis of dissolved organic matter showed that the fulvic acid-like substances in raw water was successfully removed in the reverse osmosis process. The mobile water production system developed in this study is expected to be used not only in water supply in case of disaster, but also widely used in islands and rural area.