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This dissertation consists of five papers concerning nitrification in chloraminated drinking water distribution systems in a one and a half year field study. Seven finished waters were produced from different treatment processes and distributed to eighteen pilot distribution systems (PDSs) that were made pipes taken from actual distribution systems. Unlined cast iron (UCI), galvanized steel (G), lined cast iron (LCI), and PVC pipes were used to build the PDSs. All finished waters were stabilized and chloraminated before entering the PDSs. This dissertation consists of five major parts. (1) System variations of nitrates, nitrites, DO, pH, alkalinity, temperature, chloramine residuals and hydraulic residence times (HRT) during biological nitrification are interrelated and discussed relative to nitrification, which demonstrated Stoichiometric relationships associated with conventional biochemical nitrification reactions. Ammonia is always released when chloramines are used for residual maintenance in drinking water distribution systems, which practically insures the occurrence of biological nitrification to some degree. Biological nitrification was initiated by a loss of chloramine residual brought about by increasing temperatures at a five day HRT, which was accompanied by DO loss and slightly decreased pH. Ammonia increased due to chloramine decomposition and then decreased as nitrification began. Nitrites and nitrates increased initially with time after the chloramine residual was lost but decreased if denitrification began. Dissolved oxygen limited nitrifier growth and nitrification. No significant alkalinity variation was observed during nitrification. Residual and nitrites are key parameters for monitoring nitrification in drinking water distribution systems. (2) Using Monod kinetics, a steady state plug-flow kinetics model was developed to describe the variations of ammonia, nitrite and nitrate-N concentrations in a chloraminated distribution system. Active AOB and NOB biomass in the distribution system was determined using predictive equations within the model. The kinetic model used numerical analysis and was solved by C language to predict ammonia, nitrite, nitrate variation. (3) Nitrification control strategies were investigated during an unexpected episode and controlled study in a field study. Once nitrification began, increasing chloramine dose from 4.0 to 4.5 mg/L as Cl2 and Cl2:N ratio from 4/1 to 5/1 did not stop nitrification. Nitrification was significantly reduced but not stopped, when the distribution system hydraulic retention time was decreased from 5 to 2 days. A free chlorine burn for one week at 5 mg/L Cl2 stopped nitrification. In a controlled nitrification study, nitrification increased with increasing free ammonia and Cl2:N ratios less than 5. Flushing with increased chloramine concentration reduced nitrification, but varying flush frequency from 1 to 2 weeks had no effect on nitrification. (4) HPC variations in a chloraminated drinking water distribution system were investigated. Results showed average residual and temperature were the only water quality variables shown to affect HPC change at a five day distribution system hydraulic residence time was five days. Once nitrification began, HPC change was correlated to HRT, average residual and generated nitrite-N in the distribution system. (5) Biostability was assessed for water treatment processes and distribution system pipe by AOCs, BDOCs, and HPCs of the bulk water, and by PEPAs of the attached biofilms. All membrane finished waters were more likely to be biologically stable as indicated by lower AOCs. RO produced the lowest AOC. The order of biofilm growth by pipe material was UCI > G > LCI > PVC. Biostability decreased as temperature increased.

This dissertation focuses on copper release in drinking water. Qualitative and quantitative assessment of Cu and Fe corrosion by process water quality was assessed over one year in a field study using finished waters produced from seven different treatment process and eighteen pilot distribution systems (PDSs) that were made from unlined cast iron and galvanized steel pipes, and lined cement and PVC pipes taken from actual distribution systems. Totally seven different waters were studied, which consisted of three source waters: groundwater, surface, and simulated brackish water designated as G1, S1, and RO. With certain pre-established blending ratios, these three waters were blended to form another three waters designated as G2, G3, and G4. Enhanced surface water treatment was CFS, ozonation and GAC filtration, which was designated as S1. The CFS surface water was nanofiltered, which is S2. All seven finished waters were stabilized and chloraminated before entering the PDSs. Corrosion potential was compared qualitatively and quantitatively for all seven waters by monitoring copper and iron release from the PDSs. This dissertation consists of four major parts. (1) Copper corrosion surface characterization in which the solid corrosion products formed in certain period of exposure to drinking water were tried to be identified with kinds of surface techniques. Surface characterization indicated that major corrosion products consists of cuprite (Cu2O) as major underneath corrosion layer and tenorite (CuO), cupric hydroxide (Cu(OH)2) on the top surface. In terms of dissolution/precipitation mechanism controlling the copper concentration in bulk solution, cupric hydroxide thermodynamic model was developed. (2) Theoretical thermodynamic models were developed to predict the copper release level quantitatively based on controlling solid phases identified in part (1). These models are compared to actual data and relative assessment is made of controlling solid phases. (3) Non-linear and linear regression models were developed that accommodated the release to total copper for varying water quality. These models were verified using independent data and provide proactive means of assessing and controlling copper release in a varying water quality environment. (4) Simulation of total copper release was conducted using all possible combinations of water quality produced by blending finished waters from ground, surface and saline sources, which involves the comparison of copper corrosion potentials among reverse osmosis, nanofiltration, enhanced coagulation, lime softening, and conventional drinking water treatment.

Total lead release in drinking water in the presence of free chlorine and chloramine residuals was investigated in field, laboratory and fundamental investigations for finished waters produced from ground (GW), surface (SW), saline (RO) and blended (B) sources. Field investigations found more total lead was released in the presence of chloramines than in the presence of free chlorine for RO and blended finished waters; however, there were no statistical differences in total lead release to finished GW and SW. Laboratory measurements of finished waters oxidation-reduction potential (ORP) were equivalent by source and were not affected by the addition of more than 100 mg/L of sulfates or chlorides, but were significantly higher in the presence of free chlorine relative to chloramines. Development of Pourbaix diagrams revealed the PbO2 was the controlling solid phase at the higher ORP in the presence of free chlorine and Pb3(CO3)2(OH)2(s) (hydrocerussite) was the controlling solid phase in the presence of chloramines at the lower ORP, which mechanistically accounted for the observed release of total lead as PbO2 is much less soluble than hydrocerussite. The lack of differences in total lead release to finished GW and SW was attributed to differences in water quality and intermittent behavior of particulate release from controlling solid films.

In this study, the bacterial growth dynamics of 14 pilot drinking water distribution systems were studied in order to observe water quality changes due to corrosion inhibitor addition. Empirical models were developed to quantity the effect of inhibitor type and dose on bacterial growth (biofilm and bulk water). Water and pipe coupon samples were taken and examined during the experiments. The coupons were exposed to drinking water at approximately 20°C for at least 5 weeks to allow the formation of a measurable quasi- steady-state biofilm. Bulk water samples were taken every week. In this study, two simple but practical empirical models were created. Sensitivity analysis for the bulk HPC model (for all 14 of the PDSs) showed that maintaining a chloramine residual at 2.6 mg/L instead of 1.1 mg/L would decrease bulk HPC by anywhere from 0.5 to 0.9 log, which was greater than the increase in bulk HPC from inhibitor addition at 0.31 to 0.42 log for Si and P based inhibitors respectively. This means that maintaining higher residual levels can counteract the relatively modest increases due to inhibitors. BF HPC was affected by pipe material, effluent residual and temperature in addition to a small increase due to inhibitor addition. Biofilm density was most affected by material type, with polyvinyl chloride (PVC) biofilm density consistently much lower than other materials (0.66, 0.92, and 1.22 log lower than lined cast iron (LCI), unlined cast iron (UCI), and galvanized steel (G), respectively). Temperature had a significant effect on both biofilm and bulk HPC levels but it is not practical to alter temperature for public drinking water distribution systems so temperature is not a management tool like residual. This study evaluated the effects of four different corrosion inhibitors (i.e. based on either phosphate or silica) on drinking water distribution system biofilms and bulk water HPC levels. Four different pipe materials were used in the pilot scale experiments, polyvinyl chloride (PVC), lined cast iron (LCI), unlined cast iron (UCI), and galvanized steel (G). Three kinds of phosphate based and one silica based corrosion inhibitors were added at concentrations typically applied in a drinking water distribution system for corrosion control. The data showed that there was a statistically significant increase of 0.34 log in biofilm bacterial densities (measured as HPC) with the addition of any of the phosphate based inhibitors (ortho-phosphorus, blended ortho-poly-phosphate, and zinc ortho-phosphate). A silica based inhibitor resulted in an increase of 0.36 log. The biological data also showed that there was a statistically significant increase in bulk water bacterial densities (measured as heterotrophic plates count, HPC) with the addition of any of the four inhibitors. For bulk HPC this increase was relatively small, being 15.4% (0.42 log) when using phosphate based inhibitors, and 11.0% (0.31 log) for the silica based inhibitor. Experiments with PDS influent spiked with phosphate salts, phosphate based inhibitors, and the silicate inhibitor showed that the growth response of P17 and NOx in the AOC test was increased by addition of these inorganic compounds. For this source water and the PDSs there was more than one limiting nutrient. In addition to organic compounds phosphorus was identified as a nutrient stimulating growth, and there was also an unidentified nutrient in the silica based inhibitor. However since the percentage increases due to inhibitors were no greater than 15% it is unlikely that this change would be significant for the bulk water microbial quality. In addition it was shown that increasing the chloramines residual could offset any additional growth and that the inhibitors could help compliance with the lead and copper rule. However corrosion inhibitors might result in an increase in monitoring and maintenance requirements, particularly in dead ends, reaches with long HRTs, and possibly storage facilities. In addition it is unknown what the effect of corrosion inhibitors are on the growth of coliform bacteria and opportunistic pathogens relative to ordinary heterotrophs. A method was developed to monitor precision for heterotrophic plate count (HPC) using both blind duplicates and lab replicates as part of a project looking at pilot drinking water distribution systems. Precision control charts were used to monitor for changes in assay variability with time just as they are used for chemical assays. In adapting these control charts for the HPC assay, it was determined that only plate counts ≥ 30 cfu per plate could be used for Quality Assurance (QA) purposes. In addition, four dilutions were used for all known Quality Control (QC) samples to insure counts usable for QC purposes would be obtained. As a result there was a 50% increase in the required labor for a given number of samples when blind duplicates and lab replicates were run in parallel with the samples. For bulk water HPCs the distributions of the duplicate and replicate data were found to be significantly different and separate control charts were used. A probability based analysis for setting up the warning limit (WL) and control limit (CL) was compared with the method following National Institute of Standard and Technology (NIST) guidelines.

The impact of blended orthophosphate (BOP) inhibitor addition on the corrosion of iron, copper, and lead in drinking water distribution systems was studied under changing water quality environment. Release of iron, copper, and lead were monitored at varying inhibitor doses and changing blends of source waters (groundwater, surface water, and desalinated water). Solid corrosion products on pipe surfaces under BOP treatment were evaluated with surface characterization techniques. Performance of the BOP inhibitor was compared to other corrosion control strategies. Iron scales for iron and galvanized steel coupons incubated in different blended waters in the presence of BOP inhibitor were analyzed by X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS) for surface composition. Identified iron corrosion products were ferric oxide (Fe2O3), magnetite (Fe3O4), and hydrated ferric oxide (FeOOH), in addition to ferric phosphate (FePO4) on coupons exposed to BOP inhibitor. Variations of water quality did not significantly affect the distribution of solid iron forms on surface films. Thermodynamic modeling indicated siderite (FeCO3) was the controlling solid phase of iron release. XPS indicated addition of BOP inhibitor produced a solid phosphate film in the iron scale which could inhibit iron release. Impact of BOP, orthophosphate, and pH adjustment on iron release in a distribution system was examined. Iron release was sensitive to water quality variations (alkalinity and chloride) associated with source and blends of finished water. Finished waters with high alkalinity content (between 149 and 164 mg/L as CaCO3) consistently mitigated iron release regardless of inhibitor use. Dissolved iron constituted about 10% of total iron release. Empirical models were developed that related water quality, inhibitor type and dose to iron release. The BOP inhibitor minimized total iron release followed closely by increasing pH (between 7.9 and 8.1), while orthophosphate dose did not affect iron release. Temperature (ranged from 21.2 to 25.3) had limited influence on iron release with BOP treatment. Monitoring copper release showed that dissolved copper was the dominant form in the effluent, at about 88%. BOP inhibitor doses of 0.5 to 2.0 mg/L proved beneficial in controlling copper concentrations to an average of below 0.5 mg/L. Control of copper release improved with increasing BOP dose, despite changes in alkalinity. Elevation of pH by 0.3 unit beyond pHs (between 7.9 and 8.1) resulted in noticeable decrease in copper concentrations of about 30%, but was more sensitive to higher alkalinity (146 to 151 mg/L as CaCO3) than BOP treatment. Developed empirical models confirmed the importance of BOP inhibitor dose, pH increase, and alkalinity content on copper release. Statistical comparison of the corrosion control strategies proved the advantage of BOP inhibitor, at all doses, over pH elevation in controlling copper release. The BOP inhibitor mitigated lead release below action level, and consistently outperformed pH elevation, in all water quality conditions. XPS analysis identified lead dioxide (PbO2), lead oxide (PbO), cerussite (PbCO3), and hydrocerussite (Pb3(CO3)2(OH)2) as the corrosion products in the scale of lead/tin coupons exposed to BOP inhibitor. XPS and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) analysis suggested cerussite or hydrocerussite is the controlling solid phase of lead release. Thermodynamic models for cerussite and hydrocerussite grossly over predicted actual concentrations. Solubility and equilibrium relationships suggested the possibility of a lead orthophosphate solid that would describe the effectiveness of BOP inhibitor, although no lead-phosphate solid was detected by surface analysis. BOP inhibitor appeared to have mitigated lead release by forming a surface film between lead scale and the bulk water.

ABSTRACT The network of pipes in potable water distribution systems (WDS) are comprised of thousands of pipes made of various materials including PVC, concrete, cast iron, and steel, among several others. The pipes are subjected to internal and external conditions that lead to their failure. Stress conditions include, but are not limited to internal pressures, traffic loading, and corrosion. The deterioration of a pipe decreases its mechanical strength which results in an increase of its probability of failure. Failures lead to loss of service which translates to loss of money due to the cost of repairs and buildup of traffic caused by street closures. The focus of this study is the pipe network underneath cities that make it possible for communities to have access to potable water. The objective of this analysis is to evaluate the physical conditions of each pipe in a water distribution system in order to assess its probability of failure and ultimately calculate the risk associated with each pipe in the case that it were to fail. This model focuses only on the pipes of the WDS and does not take into consideration fittings, pumps, and other network components. This model assesses pipe age, material, diameter, internal pressure, traffic loading (industrial or residential), and length to determine the probability of failure. It then utilizes several economic factors such as material cost, customer criticality, demand, traffic impact, and land use to calculate the risk associated with each pipe. The risk associated with each pipe can then be used as a ranking system to identify the most vulnerable pipes, those with the highest economic impact upon failure. Identifying the pipes with the highest risk allows municipalities to better allocate funds for maintenance or replacement of pipes. It highlights the most critical pipes within a network of thousands. In order to check its functionality, this model applied to the WDS of the City of Arroyo Grande, California. Information on the City’s distribution system was analyzed using Bentley’s WaterCAD, ESRI’s ArcGIS, MathWorks’ MATLAB and Microsoft’s Excel software to perform the analysis. The risk analysis model provided 3 pipes within the distribution system made of cast iron as having a high probability of failure and a critical level of risk. A critical level of risk is defined as falling within the highest range of risk within this study. Considering that only 3 pipe segments were highlighted as having a Critical Risk, 4 as High Risk, and 6 as Medium Risk, in a system of 3572 pipes indicates that the model functions properly. This model was compared to a method developed by Jan C. Devera in his thesis “Risk Assessment Model for Pipe Rehabilitation and Replacement in a Water Distribution System” (2013), which was also applied to the City of Arroyo Grande’s distribution system. Results provided by this analysis prove that both models are functional due to similar results. The current study utilizes the concepts of random variables and conditional assessment to run various Monte Carlo Simulations as the means of calculating the probability of failure of a pipe. Mr. Devera’s model utilizes simplistic approach that does not involve intensive calculations, but results for both models turned out to be similar when looking at the Arroyo Grande distribution system. This risk assessment model demonstrates that a risk assessment model can provide a framework to prioritize pipes based on risk. The approach can help create a schedule for a city’s pipe distribution network for maintenance and repair. It is important to note that it is not a predictive model. This study may be employed to better allocate funds for the rehabilitation and replacement of a city’s existing pipe network to promote optimal operating conditions and service to the public.

This work presents a software framework for power system analysis, PowerFrame. It is composed of four layers. This four-layer architecture is designed for extensibility and reusability so that more complex power system problems can be tackled within the architecture. In the context of PowerFrame, this work explores complex power system problems. Included in these problems are parallel-placed cables with multiple conductors, and distributed resources operating in unbalanced power distribution systems. Mathematical models are derived. Errors between more exact models and conventional approaches are presented. PowerFrame is also designed to handle distributed computation for intensive power system calculations on multiple, networked computers. Distributed power flow algorithms are presented. Tests on Ethernet LANs show the feasibility of distributed computation under current computer network bandwidth. / Ph. D.

Solar PV-based distributed generation has increased significantly over the last few years, and the rapid growth is expected to continue in the foreseeable future. As the penetration levels of distributed generation increase, power systems will become increasingly decentralized with bi-directional flow of electricity between the transmission and distribution networks. To manage such decentralized power systems, planners and operators need models that accurately reflect the structure of, and interactions between the transmission and distribution networks. Moreover, algorithms that can simulate the steady state and dynamics of power systems using these models are also needed. In this context, integrated transmission and distribution system modeling and simulation has become an important research area in recent years, and the primary focus so far has been on studying the steady state response of power systems using integrated transmission and distribution system models. The primary objective of this dissertation is to develop an analysis approach and a program that can simulate the dynamics of three phase, integrated transmission and distribution system models, and use the program to demonstrate the advantages of evaluating the impact of solar PV-based distributed generation on power systems dynamics using such models. To realize this objective, a new dynamic simulation analysis approach is presented, the implementation of the approach in a program is discussed, and verification studies are presented to demonstrate the accuracy of the program. A new dynamic model for small solar PV-based distributed generation is also investigated. This model can interface with unbalanced networks and change its real power output according to the incident solar irradiation. Finally, application of the dynamic simulation program for evaluating the impact of solar PV units using an integrated transmission and distribution system model is discussed. The dissertation presents a new approach for studying the impact of solar PV-based distributed generation on power systems dynamics, and demonstrates that the solar PV impact studies performed using the program and integrated transmission and distribution system models provide insights about the dynamic response of power systems that cannot be obtained using traditional dynamic simulation approaches that rely on transmission only models. / Ph. D.

How to evaluate the performance of an electric power distribution system unambiguously and quantitatively is not easy. How to accurately measure the efficiency of it for a whole year, using real time hour-by-hour Locational Marginal Price data, is difficult. How to utilize distributed computing technology to accomplish these tasks with a timely fashion is challenging. This thesis addresses the issues mentioned above, by investigating feeder performance analysis of electric power distribution systems with distributed algorithm. Feeder performance analysis computes a modeled circuit's performance over an entire year, listing key circuit performance parameters such as efficiency, loading, losses, cost impact, power factor, three phase imbalance, capacity usage and others, providing detailed operating information for the system, and an overview of the performance of every circuit in the system. A diakoptics tearing method and Graph Trace Analysis based distributed computing technology is utilized to speed up the calculation. A general distributed computing architecture is established and a distributed computing algorithm is described. To the best of the author's knowledge, it is the first time that this detailed performance analysis is researched, developed and tested, using a diakoptics based tearing method and Graph Trace Analysis to split the system so that it can be analyzed with distributed computing technology. / Master of Science