Cost to utilities of a lower MCL for arsenic
- Hagler Bailly Services, Boulder, CO (United States)
- Malcolm Pirnie, Carlsbad, CA (United States)
- Malcolm Pirnie, Phoenix, AZ (United States)
- Virginia Polytechnic Inst. and State Univ., Blacksburg, VA (United States)
Compliance with a revised arsenic maximum contaminant level (MCL) for drinking water will require a substantial cost to water suppliers in the United States. A rigorous methodology was developed to estimate the national cost of complying with alternative regulatory limits for arsenic. This methodology considered the feasibility of available technologies based on existing treatment at utilities that are not in compliance and the level of water quality constitutents that limit technology performance. A least-cost method of selecting treatment alternatives was used to estimate compliance costs and the results were extrapolated nationally. Estimated national compliance costs ranged from $$330 million per year for a 20-{micro}g/L MCL to more than $$4.1 billion/year for a 2-{micro}g/L MCL. These estimates represent a 10- to 20-fold increase in the US Environmental Protection Agency`s (USEPA`s) preliminary cost estimates. Although the effect on small systems would be substantial, this study found that the cost burden would be shared equally between small and large systems. USEPA also found that systems using groundwater would bear more of the total costs that systems using surface water.
- OSTI ID:
- 577293
- Journal Information:
- Journal of the American Water Works Association, Journal Name: Journal of the American Water Works Association Journal Issue: 3 Vol. 90; ISSN 0003-150X; ISSN JAWWA5
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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