Using naturally occurring radionuclides to determine drinking water age in a community water system

Waples, James T.; Bordewyk, Jason K.; Knesting, Kristina M.; Orlandini, Kent A.

doi:10.1021/acs.est.5b03227

Title: Using naturally occurring radionuclides to determine drinking water age in a community water system

Journal Article · Wed Jul 22 00:00:00 EDT 2015 · Environmental Science and Technology

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.5b03227· OSTI ID:1214157

Waples, James T. ^[1]; Bordewyk, Jason K. ^[2]; Knesting, Kristina M. ^[1]; Orlandini, Kent A. ^[3]

Univ. of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Milwaukee, WI (United States). School of Freshwater Sciences.
Stantec, St. Paul, MN (United States)
Argonne National Lab., Argonne, IL (United States). Environmental Research Div.

Drinking water quality in a community water system is closely linked to the age of water from initial treatment to time of delivery. However, water age is difficult to measure with conventional chemical tracers; particularly in stagnant water, where the relationship between disinfectant decay, microbial growth, and water age is poorly understood. Using radionuclides that were naturally present in source water, we found that measured activity ratios of ⁹⁰Y/⁹⁰Sr and ²³⁴Th/²³⁸U in discrete drinking water samples of known age accurately estimated water age up to 9 days old (σ_est: ± 3.8 h, P < 0.0001, r² = 0.998, n = 11) and 25 days old (σ_est: ± 13.3 h, P < 0.0001, r² = 0.996, n = 12), respectively. Moreover, ⁹⁰Y-derived water ages in a community water system (6.8 × 10⁴ m³ d^–1 capacity) were generally consistent with water ages derived from an extended period simulation model. Radionuclides differ from conventional chemical tracers in that they are ubiquitous in distribution mains and connected premise plumbing. The ability to measure both water age and an analyte (e.g., chemical or microbe) in any water sample at any time allows for new insight into factors that control drinking water quality.

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Research Organization:: Argonne National Laboratory (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE

Grant/Contract Number:: AC02-06CH11357

OSTI ID:: 1214157

Journal Information:: Environmental Science and Technology, Vol. 49, Issue 16; ISSN 0013-936X

Publisher:: American Chemical Society (ACS)Copyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

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Cited by: 2 works

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