Soil aquifer treatment (SAT) during managed aquifer recharge has been studied as a method of providing additional environmental barriers to pathogens and contaminants in indirect potable reuse (IPR) applications. A soil column study was conducted by Hampton Roads Sanitation District in order to evaluate the effectiveness of SAT, as a component of its IPR project involving the replenishment of the Potomac Aquifer System (PAS), in providing a sustainable source of drinking water. Four packed soil columns were constructed with sand from the PAS and were designed to simulate the travel time of 3 days and 30 days. The tests conducted aimed at evaluating pathogen removal (MS2, E. coli and Cryptosporidium oocysts); evaluating attenuation of regulated (nitrate, nitrite, bromate, trihalomethane (THM), haloacetic acids (HAA), organic carbon) and unregulated contaminants of concern that affect drinking water quality. Effective pathogen removal was observed with 6 to 7-log removals of MS2 and E. coli and 3 to 5-log removals of microbeads, used as a surrogate for Cryptosporidium. Removal across 3 day columns was comparable to 30-day columns but the potential to achieve higher removal with longer retention time was acknowledged. Nitrate, bromate, THMs and HAAs were completely reduced in 30-day columns. Total organic carbon was removed at 25 – 35% in all four columns. Seven out of the 106 contaminants of emerging concern (CEC) tested were consistently detected in the column feed and effluent at concentrations greater than 100 ng/L; some compounds showed potential for removal while no conclusive results were drawn for the remaining compounds. / MS / Potable reuse is a sustainable solution to the increasing water demands of the present and more so the future. Hampton Road Sanitation District (HRSD) aims to treat effluent from its wastewater treatment plants using advanced treatment process for direct recharge of the Potomac aquifer system. This is a method of indirect potable reuse termed as managed aquifer recharge (MAR). MAR can provide additional environmental barriers to contaminants present in water through a process of natural attenuation called soil aquifer treatment (SAT). A soil column study was conducted at HRSD’s pilot scale facility in order to asses SAT under controlled conditions at a meaningful scale. Attenuation of pathogens; regulated contaminants (nitrate, nitrite, bromate, etc.) and contaminants of emerging concern was evaluated through the soil columns. The results showed effective removal of most contaminants of interest which demonstrated that SAT potentially improves water quality and meets public health standards in potable reuse applications.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:VTETD/oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/98749 |
| Date | 12 December 2018 |
| Creators | Pradhan, Prarthana |
| Contributors | Environmental Science and Engineering, Bott, Charles B., Widdowson, Mark A., Dietrich, Andrea M. |
| Publisher | Virginia Tech |
| Source Sets | Virginia Tech Theses and Dissertation |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
| Format | ETD, application/pdf |
| Rights | In Copyright, http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/ |
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