The Study of Potential Transition Effects on Water Quality During Distribution by Smart Water Meters (SWMs)

Abstract

Driven by the fast development of water purification technologies, tightening of water quality regulations and the increasing public concern on water-related health problems, drinking water companies have spared no efforts on treatment processes upgradation as well as striving on maintenance aspects. In the event of perturbation such as supply-water change in this study, historically harbored materials in drinking water distribution systems (DWDS), can potentially be converted into suspended materials and consequently delivered to end users, leading to a reduction on hygienic water quality.
In order to capture the potential occurrence of transition effects in a research area and figure out the impact as well as trace back its potential origination, Smart Water Meter is designed and developed with the integrated functions of on-line monitoring, sampling and real-time data communication detect and monitor potentially occurred physiochemical and microbiological water quality deterioration during supply-water change period. The improved Smart Water Meter consists of pressure sensors, temperature sensors, filter bag with 50-micron pore size, a normal water meter and a monitor box. Meanwhile, 3 batch of pipes sampling and 2 batch of filter bags sampling were carried out in time series to analysis and confirm the development and behavior of transition effect.
The results showed that new supplied water with low nutrients and particle load in the research area has triggered the occurrence of transition effects while the improved Smart Water Meters are capable to well capture the destabilized distribution network harbored materials (DNHM) in DWDS and prevent undesirable large particulate matter from reaching the consumers’. Besides, the triggered transition effect in this case was not violate and the temporal tendency of the microbiological and elemental parameters indicated the gradual settle-down of the transition effect. The cross comparison between the elements structure from pipe samples and filter bags, Ca and Fe are the dominate compounds in filtrates and indicates the destabilized DNHM could probably originated from detached biofilm and resuspended loose deposits since they the hotspots for calcium and iron respectively.