Yeasts form an important part of many ecosystems and significantly contribute to biodiversity. However, yeast biodiversity in the North West Province remains largely unexplored. The aim of this study was to determine the diversity and characteristics of yeasts from water sources in the North West Province, South Africa. Samples were collected over a two year period and included three rivers, a spruit and an inland lake. Temperature, pH, and electrical conductivity (EC) were measured on site using a multi-probe. Nitrate (NO3-N), nitrite (NO2-N) and phosphate (PO42-) levels were determined in the laboratory using Hatch kits and equipment. The pH ranged from 7.2 to 9.2. Elevated EC levels (36-70 mS) were detected especially at the Harts River and Barberspan (38-165 mS) sites. Physico-chemical parameter levels were higher during the cold dry sampling period compared to the warm rainy sampling period. Levels and diversity of yeasts were determined using the membrane filtration method. The highest level of yeasts was detected in the Mooi River and Schoonspruit during 2010 and 2011 sampling periods. Pigmented and non-pigmented yeasts were enumerated from all samples. Over the two year period the highest number of pigmented yeasts was detected in the Schoonspruit samples. In some cases there were significant (P<0.05) differences between pigmented and non-pigmented yeast levels among the sites. The diazonium blue B (DBB) test was carried out to distinguish between ascomycetous and basidiomycetous yeasts. These isolates were then identified using the API ID 32C system. Yeasts isolates were identified as belonging to the following genera: Candida, Cryptococcus, Pichia, Rhodotorula and Zygosaccharomyces. In addition using 26S rRNA gene sequencing Aureobasidium spp., Clavispora spp., Cystofilobasidium spp., Hanseniaspora spp., Meyerozyma spp., Sporidiobolus spp., and Wickerhamomyces spp.were also identified. The diversity and abundance of yeasts in the water sources demonstrated that opportunistic pathogens were present. This was supported by results that indicated some isolates could grow at 37°C and higher. In conclusion, our results provide preliminary information on the distribution and diversity of yeasts in water sources of the North West Province, South Africa. / Thesis (MSc (Environmental Sciences))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2013.

Yeasts form an important part of many ecosystems and significantly contribute to biodiversity. However, yeast biodiversity in the North West Province remains largely unexplored. The aim of this study was to determine the diversity and characteristics of yeasts from water sources in the North West Province, South Africa. Samples were collected over a two year period and included three rivers, a spruit and an inland lake. Temperature, pH, and electrical conductivity (EC) were measured on site using a multi-probe. Nitrate (NO3-N), nitrite (NO2-N) and phosphate (PO42-) levels were determined in the laboratory using Hatch kits and equipment. The pH ranged from 7.2 to 9.2. Elevated EC levels (36-70 mS) were detected especially at the Harts River and Barberspan (38-165 mS) sites. Physico-chemical parameter levels were higher during the cold dry sampling period compared to the warm rainy sampling period. Levels and diversity of yeasts were determined using the membrane filtration method. The highest level of yeasts was detected in the Mooi River and Schoonspruit during 2010 and 2011 sampling periods. Pigmented and non-pigmented yeasts were enumerated from all samples. Over the two year period the highest number of pigmented yeasts was detected in the Schoonspruit samples. In some cases there were significant (P<0.05) differences between pigmented and non-pigmented yeast levels among the sites. The diazonium blue B (DBB) test was carried out to distinguish between ascomycetous and basidiomycetous yeasts. These isolates were then identified using the API ID 32C system. Yeasts isolates were identified as belonging to the following genera: Candida, Cryptococcus, Pichia, Rhodotorula and Zygosaccharomyces. In addition using 26S rRNA gene sequencing Aureobasidium spp., Clavispora spp., Cystofilobasidium spp., Hanseniaspora spp., Meyerozyma spp., Sporidiobolus spp., and Wickerhamomyces spp.were also identified. The diversity and abundance of yeasts in the water sources demonstrated that opportunistic pathogens were present. This was supported by results that indicated some isolates could grow at 37°C and higher. In conclusion, our results provide preliminary information on the distribution and diversity of yeasts in water sources of the North West Province, South Africa. / Thesis (MSc (Environmental Sciences))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2013.

Includes bibliographical references / This dissertation seeks to explore the core drivers of international cooperation over shared water courses particularly in Southern African, using the example of the Okavango River Basin as a case study. As a starting point it highlights the hydro-political context of Southern African, which is dominated by more than 21 shared water courses and faces significant challenges to its water sector namely through climate variability and population growth. In light of these pressing issues which could create a security complex for sovereign riparian states, international cooperation over trans-boundary water sources is imperative. Drawing on core theories of international relations, this dissertation suggests that cooperation between riparian states is a result of strong institutional frameworks, at a river-basin, regional and international level. Cooperation is further reinforced through development functionalism which plays an important role in facilitating cooperation through the advancement of regional development goals and initiatives. Finally, the dissertation explores the role of international norms of cooperation over trans-boundary water courses and the important role they play in fostering cooperation. Using the case of the Okavango River Basin, the dissertation suggests that in Southern Africa, the strongest driver of cooperation is strong legal and institutional frameworks, which once established, form the basis for sustainable cooperation for water diplomacy between riparian states. Cooperation over the Okavango River Basin and the twenty years of cooperation established between Angola, Namibia and Botswana through the Permanent Cubango-Okavango River Basin Commission (OKACOM) highlights an optimistic account for hydro-political cooperation over trans-boundary water systems between sovereign riparian states and provides a useful model for water basin agreements that are yet to be established. This thesis thus concludes that in light of the growing challenges facing the water sector in Southern Africa, strong institutions and legal frameworks are required to enhance cooperation among riparian states.

No description available.

Magister Public Health - MPH / There is growing awareness that drinking water can become contaminated following its collection from safe communal sources such as boreholes, as well as during transportation and storage in the house. Drinking water is the most important source of gastroentric diseases worldwide, mainly due to post collection contamination of drinking water. Globally, waterborne diseases are a major public health problem, causing millions of deaths annually. Aim: To determine the association between household drinking water handling practices and bacteriological quality of drinking water at the point-of-use in the rural communities of Murewa district in Zimbabwe.

Municipal governments consider the provision of water supply as an essential service for public health and safety, economic growth, and community well-being. As the demand for water increases with population growth, municipal water sources are approaching their limits and water source expansion is often constrained by the physical and seasonal availability of fresh water, environmental protection policies and other factors. As systems strive to balance supply and demand, it is important to know what choices U. S. cities are making in developing new sources of supply and, in particular, how U.S. environmental policies are influencing the range of water supply alternatives. This research inquiry was constructed based on four hypotheses: 1) development of large surface water impoundments is no longer a preferred choice of a new source, 2) water utilities increasingly are relying on non-conventional sources for augmenting their supplies. 3) environmental statutes act as constraints in developing water sources, and 4) water needs and planning choices vary by geographic region and water system size. Evidence to explore these hypotheses was collected from detailed case studies of the history of source development of ten municipal water systems and an email survey of 189 drinking water systems throughout the U.S. The historical record of these systems was used to identify a pattern of three distinct periods of water source development: i) groundwater regime, ii) surface water regime, and iii) non-conventional regime. Source development before the Great Depression (1930s) was identified as the groundwater regime. The surface water regime began with the addition of large number of reservoirs that were added as part of the public works programs instituted after the Great Depression. Surface water source development slowed after the 1970s due to the enactment of environmental statutes and the non-conventional regime began. The nationwide water utility survey showed that about 88 percent of respondents reduced their per capita water use since the institution of national plumbing standards in the 1990s. The research also found that development of large surface water impoundments is no longer a preferred choice for cities or municipalities and that "non-conventional" water sources, such as water reclamation and desalination and reclamation began to be employed as alternative sources in 1980s. Environmental statutes such as, National Environmental Policy Act, Clean Water Act (CWA), Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA), Endangered Species Act (ESA), Rivers and Harbors Act (RHA), and Wild and Scenic Rivers Act (WRSA) have been criticized as constraints to the development of new water sources. However, this research shows that water utilities in general perceive that these statutes are not a constraint. Only 24 percent of respondents perceived them as a constraint and some respondents actually perceived these statutes as an enabler to sustainable water source development. In general, the ESA, CWA 404 permit and NPDES permits were reported to be barriers to water source development, while the SDWA was most reported as an enabler. The research also found that water supply needs and planning choices vary by geographic region. Water systems in the West were more likely to be in need of water source expansion than systems in the East. When considering supply expansions, eastern cities are more likely to pursue conventional sources whereas western cities more likely to pursue a combination of conventional and non-conventional. The water utility survey and case studies showed that while U.S. water systems have employed water demand management techniques to make dramatic reductions in their per capita water use, they nonetheless continue to pursue new water supply sources to meet anticipated future water demands. In spite of this trend toward capacity expansion, virtually all the ten case study water systems currently have surplus water with their current supply exceeding their water demand.

A deteriorating trend has been noted in the bacteriological quality of surface irrigation water sources in South Africa. In a bid to compare the bacteriological quality of two irrigation water sources as well as whether irrigation water was a source of bacterial pathogens on irrigated lettuce, this study was designed and divided into two phases. Phase one involved determination of physico-chemical parameters and bacterial indicators in the Loskop canal, the Skeerpoort river and lettuce irrigated with water from the Skeerpoort river over 10 months. Co-currently the study further determined the diversity of the most prevalent bacterial microflora in the 3 sample sources over the same time period. Aerobic colony counts (ACC), Aerobic spore formers (ASF), Anaerobic spore formers (AnSF), Faecal coliforms (FC), Intestinal enterococci (IE) and Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) as well as prevalence of Escherichia coli (E. coli), Salmonella spp and Listeria monocytogenes (L. monocytogenes) were determined. Additionally the most prevalent aerobic bacterial species isolated from the three sources were determined. Higher mean rainfall was noted in areas surrounding the Skeerpoort river (74.7mm) than the Loskop canal (0.1mm). Mean temperature was 15.4˚C and 18.2˚C while mean pH was 7.4 and 8.4 in the Loskop canal and the Skeerpoort river respectively. Low mean bacterial counts of less than 3.4 log10cfu/ml, were noted for ACC, ASF, AnSF, S. aureus and IE at both irrigation sites. Higher mean ACC of 5.9 log10cfu/g and S. aureus counts of 3.0 log10cfu/g were noted on lettuce. Although low mean counts of FC (1.3 log10cfu/100ml) were noted for all three sources, high incidence of E. coli was observed during bacterial composition studies on nonselective media. This suggested underestimation of faecal contamination possibly indicating that identification of specific pathogens provided a better measure of assessing bacterial contamination than bacterial indicators. E. coli, Bacillus spp and Enterobacter spp were the most prevalent bacteria in the Loskop canal, the Skeerpoort river and on lettuce. Prevalence of E. coli, Bacillus spp and Enterobacter spp in the Loskop canal was 23%, 33% and 26% respectively. Similarly prevalence in the Skeerpoort river was 36%, 26%, 16% respectively. On lettuce prevalence of the same bacteria was 36%, 30% and 6% respectively. E. coli O157:H7 was isolated at both irrigation sites while Salmonella enterica (gp 1) ST paratyphi A was isolated from the Skeerpoort river. High prevalence of similar bacterial species within the Loskop canal and the Skeerpoort river suggested similar sources of contamination in the two water sources inspite of different geographical location and surrounding land use practices. Additionally, similar bacterial species in irrigation water from the Skeerpoort river and on irrigated lettuce suggested water as a source of contamination on produce. Additionally it suggests ability of bacterial pathogens to withstand environmental conditions under field conditions which may pose a risk to food safety and public health among individuals consuming irrigated fresh produce. Phase 2 aimed at determining the prevalence of antibiotic resistant and virulent E. coli collected from the Loskop canal, the Skeerpoort river and lettuce irrigated with water from the Skeerpoort river. Forty one (41) E. coli isolates: (19) Loskop canal; (12) the Skeerpoort river; (10) lettuce were tested with 11 antibiotics at single concentrations and screened for Shigatoxin 1 (stx 1), Shigatoxin 2 (stx 2) and intimin (eae) genes. Antibiotic resistance was also used as a means of clustering E. coli isolated from the 3 sources. In the Loskop canal 84% and 83% of strains in the Skeerpoort river were resistant to at least one antibiotic. There was a significant difference (p≤0.05) in resistance to antibiotics between isolates from the Loskop canal and the Skeerpoort river. Additionally the combined effect of isolate source (irrigation water site) and antibiotics for isolates from the Skeerpoort river was significant (p≤0.05). From lettuce, 90% of isolates were resistant to at least one antibiotic and resistance significantly differed (p≤0.05) from isolates in the Skeerpoort river. The highest resistance to single antibiotics in all three samples was to cephalothin and ampicillin. Higher resistance was noted to multiple (more than 2) antibiotics in the Skeerpoort river (33%) than Loskop canal (5%). Most isolates from the same source showed close relatedness. Close relatedness was noted between isolates from the Loksop canal (10.5%) and the Skeerpoort river (16%). From irrigated lettuce 40% of isolates showed close relatedness to isolates in irrigation water from the Skeerpoort river. In the Loskop canal 15% and 41% of isolates in the Skeerpoort river possessed virulence genes. From lettuce, 20% of isolates possessed virulence genes. In the Loskop canal as well as from lettuce all isolates with virulence genes were antibiotic resistant while 80% of isolates with virulence genes in the Skeerpoort river were antibiotic resistant. In the Loskop canal 10% and 25% of isolates in the Skeerpoort river were positive for stx1/stx2 and eae, genes synonymous with Enterohaemorrhagic E. coli (EHEC). Results from this study show that E. coli from the two irrigation water sources as well as on irrigated lettuce were resistant to antibiotics and potentially pathogenic. This may increase risk of contaminating irrigated fresh produce which may compromise food safety and public health of consumers. / Dissertation (MSc)--University of Pretoria, 2013. / gm2014 / Food Science / unrestricted

Natural organic matter (NOM), ubiquitous in natural water sources, is generated by biogeochemical processes in both the water body and in the surrounding watershed, as well as from the contribution of organic compounds that enter the water as a result of human activity. NOM significantly affects the properties of the water source, including the ability to transport metals, influence the aggregation kinetics of colloidal particles, serve as a food source for microorganisms and act as a precursor in the formation of disinfection by-products (DBPs), as well as imparting a brown colour to the water. The reactivity of NOM is closely tied to its physicochemical properties, such as aromaticity, elemental composition, functional group content and molecular weight (MW) distribution. The MW distribution is an important consideration from a water treatment perspective for several reasons. For example, low MW NOM decreases the efficiency of treatment with activated carbon, and this fraction is thought to be the portion most difficult to remove using coagulation. The efficiency of membranes in the treatment of drinking water is also influenced by the MW distribution of NOM, while some studies have shown that the low MW fraction contributes disproportionately to the formation of bioavailable organic matter, therefore promoting the formation of biofilms in the distribution system. For these reasons, understanding the MW distribution of NOM is important for the treatment of natural waters for use as drinking waters. Optimisation of a high pressure size exclusion chromatography (HPSEC) method for analysis of the MW distribution of NOM in natural waters is described (Chapter 2). Several parameters influencing the performance of HPSEC are tested and an optimised set of conditions illustrated. / These parameters included eluent composition, ionic strength of the sample, flow rate and injection volume. Firstly, it was found that increasing the ionic strength of the HPSEC eluent resulted in less exclusion of NOM from the stationary phase. Stationary phases used in HPSEC contain a residual negative charge that can repel the negatively charged regions of NOM, effectively reducing the accessible pore volume. By increasing the ionic strength, interactions between the stationary phase and eluent enabled a larger effective pore size for the NOM analytes. However, increasing ionic strength of the eluent also resulted in a loss of peak resolution for the NOM portion able to access the pore volume of the stationary phase. Determining the ideal eluent composition required the balancing of these two outcomes. Matching of the ionic strength of the sample with the eluent was also an important consideration. Retention times were slightly lower when the sample ionic strength was not matched with the eluent, especially for the lowest MW material, although the effect on chromatography was minimal. Flow rate had no effect on the resolution of the HPSEC chromatogram for the portion of material able to permeate the pore space of the stationary phase. Changes in the volume of sample injected had a marked effect on the elution profile of the NOM sample. Besides the obvious limitation of detection limit, only minor changes in elution profile were obtained up to an injection volume of 100 µL. Volumes above this value, however, resulted in significant peak broadening issues, as well as an undesirable effect on the low MW portion of detected DOC. / In Chapter 3, high pressure size exclusion chromatography with UV254 [subscript] and on-line detection of organic carbon (HPSEC-UV254[subscript]-OCD) was used to compare the removal of different apparent MW fractions of DOC by two process streams operating in parallel at the local Wanneroo groundwater treatment plant (GWTP). One of these two process streams included alum coagulation (operating in an enhanced coagulation mode (EC) for increased DOC removal) and the other stream included a magnetic ion exchange (MIEX®) process followed by alum coagulation (MIEX®-C). The MIEX® process is based on a micro-sized, macroporous, strong base anion exchange resin with magnetic properties, which has been designed to remove NOM through ion exchange of the anionic sites in NOM. Water was sampled from five key locations within these process streams, and the DOC at each location was characterised in terms of its MW distribution. HPSEC was carried out using three different on-line detector systems, namely OCD, UV absorbance detection at 254 nm, and fluorescence detection (λex[subscript]= 282 nm; λim[subscript] = 353 nm). This approach provided significant information on the chemical nature of the DOC in the various MW fractions. The MIEX®-C process was found to outperform the EC process: these two processes removed similar amounts of high and low MW DOC, but the MIEX®-C process showed greater removal of DOC from the intermediate MW fractions. The two coagulation processes (EC and coagulation following MIEX®) showed good removal of the fractions of highest MW, while the MIEX® process alone was found to remove DOC across all MW fractions. / These results seem to indicate that anionic groups, particularly susceptible to removal with MIEX® treatment, are well distributed across all MW fractions of NOM. In agreement with previous studies, MIEX®-C outperformed EC in the overall removal of DOC (MIEX®-C removed 25 % more DOC than EC). However, 70% of the additional DOC removed by MIEX®-C was comprised of a surprisingly narrow range of medium-high MW fractions. The development of a novel online organic carbon detector (OCD) for use with HPSEC for determining the MW distribution of NOM is described in Chapter 4. With UV absorbance detection, the magnitude of the signal is based on the extinction coefficient of the chromophores in the analytes being investigated; whereas the signal from an OCD is proportional to the actual organic carbon concentrations, providing significantly more information. The development of an online OCD involved the separation of analytes using HPSEC, removal of inorganic carbon species which may interfere with organic carbon determination, oxidation of the organic carbon to carbon dioxide, separation of the produced carbon dioxide from the aqueous phase and subsequent detection of the gaseous carbon dioxide. In the new instrument, following separation of components by HPSEC, the sample stream was acidified with orthophosphoric acid to a concentration of 20 mmol L-1[superscript], resulting in a pH of ≤ 2, in order to convert inorganic carbon to carbon dioxide. This acid dose was found to remove greater than 99 % of inorganic carbon once the acidified sample was passed through a hydrophobic polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) membrane allowing the passage of dissolved gases (under negative pressure from a vacuum pump) but restricting the flow of the mobile phase. / Several factors influenced the oxidation of the organic carbon in the next step, including the dose of persulfate, the type and intensity of UV radiation and the composition of the capillary through which the sample stream passes. Through optimisation of this process, it was found that a persulfate dose of 0.84 mmol L-1[superscript] in the sample stream was required for optimum oxidation efficiency. A medium pressure UV lamp was compared to a vacuum UV lamp for its efficiency in oxidation of organic carbon to carbon dioxide. While the medium pressure lamp produced a far smaller percentage of its total radiation at the optimum wavelength for oxidation of organic compounds, the greater overall intensity of the medium pressure lamp was shown to be superior for this application. The composition of the capillary was shown to have a considerable effect on the oxidation efficiency. A quartz capillary, internal diameter 0.6 mm, was compared with a PTFE capillary, internal diameter 0.5 mm, for the oxidation of organic carbon by external UV treatment. While peak width, an important consideration in chromatographic resolution, was greater for the larger internal diameter quartz capillary, the lower UV transparency of PTFE combined with the shorter contact time, due to the reduced internal diameter of the capillary, resulted in a less efficient oxidation step using the PTFE capillary. The quartz capillary was therefore chosen for use in the UV/persulfate oxidation step for oxidation of organic carbon to carbon dioxide. Separation of the produced carbon dioxide from the sample stream was achieved by sparging with nitrogen and contacting the gas/liquid mixture with a hydrophobic PTFE membrane, restricting the passage of the liquid while allowing the nitrogen and carbon dioxide gases to pass to the detection system. / The only factor influencing this separation was the flow of the nitrogen sparge gas, with a flow of 2 mL min-1[superscript] found to be optimum. Detection of produced carbon dioxide was via a Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectrometer with a Iightpipe accessory. The Iightpipe accessory was designed for use as a detector for gas chromatography and the small size of the detector cell was ideal for use with this application. Using the new system described, concentrations of a single peak could be determined with a detection limit of 31 ng and a determination limit of 68 ng. The development of the new OCD allowed characterisation of NOM in terms of its MW distribution and the UV and fluorescence spectral properties of each MW fraction. Further characterisation of MW fractions of NOM from a local groundwater bore was carried out by separation of the fractions by preparative HPSEC, followed by off-line analysis. Preparative HPSEC involved the injection of a pre-concentrated groundwater sample multiple times, using a large scale HPSEC column, then collecting and combining material of identical MW. This allowed each MW fraction of the sample to be further characterised as described in Chapter 5. Preparative HPSEC has only previously been applied to a small number of samples for the concentration and fractionation of NOM, where the structural features of the various MW fractions were studied. In the current research, more extensive studies of not only the chemical characteristics, but also the disinfection behaviour, of the MW fractions were conducted. Separation of the sample was conducted on a large diameter silica-based HPSEC column, with fraction collection based on semi-resolved peaks of the HPSEC chromatogram. Nine MW fractions were collected by this method. / After concentration and dialysis to remove the buffer salts in the HPSEC mobile phase, each fraction was re-analysed by analytical HPSEC-UV254[subscript] and showed a single Gaussian shaped peak, indicating discrete MW fractions had successfully been collected. Analysis of the collected MW fractions indicated that 57 % of the organic carbon was in Fractions 3 and 4, with 41 % in Fractions 5-9, leaving only 2 % in Fractions 1 (highest MW) and 2. For each of the nine MW fractions, chorine demand and 7 day trihalomethane formation potential (THMFP) were measured on dilute solutions of the same DOC concentration, and solid state 13[superscript]C NMR spectra were recorded on some of the solid isolates obtained after Iyophilisation of the separate or combined dialysis retentates. The larger MW Fractions 3 and 4 were found to contain a greater proportion of aromatic and carbonyl carbon, and the lower MW Fractions 5 and 6 and Fractions 7-9 contained greater proportions of aliphatic and O-aliphatic carbon, by this technique. Chlorine demand experiments on each individual fraction with a normalised DOC concentration indicated that the largest MW fraction (Fraction 1) had the lowest chlorine demand. It was concluded that material in this fraction may be associated with inorganic colloids and unavailable for reaction with chlorine. Fraction 3 had the highest chlorine demand, just over two times more than the next highest chlorine demand (Fraction 4) and approximately three times the chlorine demand of Fraction 2. The organic material in Fraction 2 was postulated to contain a mixture of the reactive material present in Fraction 3 and the colloidal associated material present in Fraction 1. / NMR analysis indicated that the difference between Fraction 3 and Fraction 4 was a reduction in reactive aromatic carbon and hence the lower chlorine demand in the latter fraction. Fractions 5-8 had similar chlorine demands, lower than Fraction 4, while Fraction 9 had a very low chlorine demand similar to that of Fraction 1. For Fractions 5-9, the lower aromatic carbon content most likely resulted in the lower chlorine demand. The 7 day THMFP experiments showed some clear trends, with Fraction 1 and Fraction 2 producing the least amounts of THMs but having the greatest incorporation of bromine. Fractions 3 and 4 produced the greatest concentration of THMs with the lowest bromine incorporation, perhaps as they contained fast reacting THM precursors and the higher chlorine concentrations resulted in greater amounts of chlorinated THMs. Fraction 5 and Fraction 6 produced similar levels of THMs over 7 days to Fractions 7-9 (approximately 75% of the amount formed by Fractions 3 and 4), however, Fractions 7-9 formed these THMs more quickly than Fractions 5 and 6, with slightly greater amounts of bromine incorporation. It was thought that the increased speed of formation was due to the smaller MW of these fractions and a simpler reaction pathway from starting material to formation of THMs, as well as some structural differences. This research marks the first report of significantly resolved MW fractions being isolated and their behaviour in the presence of a disinfectant being determined. While the high MW fractions had the greatest chlorine demands and THMFPs, these fractions are also the easiest to remove during coagulation water treatment processes, as shown in Chapter 3. The lowest MW material formed significant amounts of THMs, and also formed THMs more quickly than other MW fractions. / This has important implications from a water treatment perspective, as the lowest MW material is also the most difficult to remove during conventional treatment processes. Solid samples of NOM were isolated from water samples taken from four points at the Wanneroo GWTP using ultrafiltration and subsequent Iyophilisation of the retained fractions, as described in Chapter 6. The sampling points were following aeration (Raw), following treatment by MIEX®, following treatment by MIEX®-C and following treatment by EC. Elemental analysis, FTIR spectroscopy, solid state 13[superscript]C NMR spectroscopy and HPSEC-UV254[subscript]-0CD analysis were used to compare the four isolates. Treatment with MIEX®-C was found to remove the greatest amount of NOM. Additionally, treatment with MIEX®-C was able to remove the largest MW range of NOM, with the remaining material being depleted in aromatic species and having a greater proportion of aliphatic and O-aliphatic carbon. EC treatment completely removed the NOM components above 5000 Da, but NOM below this was not well removed. NOM remaining after the EC train had a lower aromatic content and more aliphatic oxygenated organic matter than the RW. The remaining organic matter after MIEX® treatment contained less aromatic material compared to the RW, but had a greater aromatic content than either of the EC or MIEX®-C samples. HPSEC was a significant analytical technique used throughout this research. Initial optimisation of an HPSEC method was an important development which allowed improved resolution of various MW fractions. The application of this technique and comparison of three detection systems for the study of DOC removal showed, for the first time, the performance of MIEX® treatment at a full scale groundwater treatment facility. / The use of various HPSEC detection systems allowed significant characterisation of the MW fractions, more information than had previously been gathered from such a sample set. This work demonstrated the need for OCD when applying HPSEC to the study of NOM. As such, a system was constructed that built on previously developed systems, with the use of a small detector cell enabling detection limits capable of measuring even the most dilute natural and treated water samples. To study the individual MW fractions in detail, preparative HPSEC was applied and, for the first time, the disinfection behaviour of various MW fractions was examined. Interestingly, the lowest MW fractions, acknowledged to be the most recalcitrant to conventional water treatment processes, produced significant quantities of THMs. Also the formation kinetics of THMs from the low MW fractions indicated that THMs were formed as quickly as, or perhaps even at faster rates than from the larger MW fractions. Finally, structural characterisation of NOM at four stages of the Wanneroo GWTP indicated MIEX®-C treatment was superior to EC, of significant interest for the water industry.

Chlorine is still the most commonly used disinfectant in many water treatment plants all over the World. However, studies conducted demonstrated that the chlorine reacts with the natural organic matter (NOM) in source waters, and leads to the formation of a variety of chlorinated organic compounds, disinfection by-products (DBPs). Among these, the most common are the trihalomethanes (THMs). In this study, kinetics of the THM formation was investigated. Kinetic experiments were carried out with the raw waters from Devege&ccedil / idi and Atat&uuml / rk Reservoirs as well as with water containing a model compound, humic acid. THM and Chlorine concentrations were measured for 6 weeks on a seasonal basis. The simulation model developed by USEPA was used for predicting THM concentrations. The results of this study have shown that THM formation increases with increasing time and higher chlorine doses result in higher THM formation. Also, higher organic matter concentrations resulted in higher chlorine demands and both these parameters increased the TTHM concentrations. But, on the contrary to the standard THMFP testing, THM formation did not complete in seven days. In addition, THM formation and chlorine consumption were very rapid during the first 24 hr followed by a more gradual formation and decay after 24 hr. THM formation rates ranged between 35-66 &micro / g/L.day for Atat&uuml / rk Reservoir, between 80-167 &micro / g/L.day for Devege&ccedil / idi Reservoir and between 85-248 &micro / g/L.day for humic acid during the first 24 hr, and ranged between 2-6 &micro / g/L.day for Atat&uuml / rk Reservoir, between 7-16 &micro / g/L.day for Devege&ccedil / idi Reservoir and between 3-14 &micro / g/L.day for humic acid after 24 hr.

No description available.