Advanced OperatorShort Schools

WATER RESOURCES

Cal Sawyer/Mark Anderson

Advanced OperatorShort Schools

Introduction to Water Supply

Public Health Protection

Historical Context

Ancient times– Civilization began near

river valleys Water delivered by

nature

Historical Context (continued)

Water Supply– Quantity and not

quality– Most use for

irrigation, not for drinking

Hand carried

Historical Context (continued)

Little evidence on quality– Knew little about

disease– Treatment used

improved appearance or taste

History of Water Treatment

Distribution (hydraulics)– Roman aqueducts

– Indus Valley

– Irrigation canals

History of Water Treatment Hippocrates stated, “. . . water contributes

much to health,” and asserted rainwater be boiled and strained

Aristotle

History of Water Treatment

1771 first reference made to water filtration– Encyclopedia Brittanica

Slow sand filtrationNot straining-Schmutzdecke

In 1828, Chelsea Waterworks By 1850, use of chlorine bleach In 1852, law in London that all water should be

filtered

Broad Street Well

London outbreak of cholera in 1854– 700 deaths– 17 weeks

Broad Street Well Dr John Snow

conducted 1st epidemiological study

Leaky sewer from original cholera case passed near the well

Mrs. E. and her niece provided clue

Map

Broad Street

Sewage collector

Communicable Diseases

Disease spread by odors Up to the 1850’s (Snow’s work) Transmission by water accepted Although agents not identified yet

Louis Pasteur

1864- Wine 1865- Bacteria

caused disease Vaccines Pasteurization of

milk

Early Epidemiology

Concept that bacteria caused disease not widely accepted until the 1890’s

Work of Professor Sedgwick– Typhoid epidemic in Dec. 1890-1891– Lowell and Lawrence, MA– Form to collect data house to house

Sedgwick’s Study

Merrimack River

Lawrence

Lowell

9 miles

3 miles

Village of N. Chelmsford

Hamburg/Altona Cholera Outbreak

Hamburg

Altona

Death Rate per 100,000

Hamburg 1344

Altona 230

Elbe RiverFiltration Plant

1892

Turn-of-the Century America

36 typhoid fever deaths per 100,000 Typhoid fever deaths:other deaths

– Lawrence 1:4.4– Lowell 1:6– (Hamburg 1:15.8)

Actual Death Rate: 21,235:100,000

Yet, In America . . .

By 1900, less than 10 slow-sand filtration were in the US

Most efforts were in supply and distribution, not treatment

Disrupted by the Civil War Decades of observation on death by

waterborne disease was required before action taken

But Progress was being made

1871: first slow sand filter in US– Poughkeepsie, NY– Richmond, VA (1832)

1896: first rapid filter in US 1890’s: experimentation with chlorination 1908: first waterworks using chlorination

Treatment Effectiveness in Reducing Typhoid Deaths

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

Death

s per

100,0

00

DisinfectionNone Filtration & Disinfection

Detroit, Michigan

Civil Engineering Milestones in US

Early focus on supply, not treatment By 1800, there were 18 waterworks 1842 water begins flowing from Croton

reservoir to NYC via a 95-mgd aqueduct 1848 Cochituate Aqueduct supplies BostonCollection of wastewater and storm water 1855 Chicago begins developing sewage

system

Sanitary Engineering Research Milestones

1887 M.I.T.’s Sanitary Chemistry Lab tasked to analyzed water supplies

1887 Massachusetts Board of Health reorganized to add engineering department

1890 Lawrence Experiment Station demonstrated wastewater treatment to be a biochemical process

Sanitary Engineering Design Milestones

1871 First slow sand filter in Poughkeepsie 1880 Separate sewer systems

recommended 1893 slow sand filters treat Merrimack

River water– Removed 98% bacteria– Deaths from typhoid fever dropped

Bacteriological Examination of Water

1884 Escherich isolated organisms from stool samples thought to cause cholera

Proved the existence of coliform bacteria Recognized as an inherent characteristic of the

feces of man (E. coli)

Early Success in Drinking Water Protection

Typhoid Deaths Per 100,000 People

Waterborne Disease

Current status of waterborne diseases in U.S.– CDC Reports

– Waterborne diseases• Bacterial

• Intestinal parasites

• Viral

Sources– Drinking Water

– Recreational Water

Major microorganisms of health concerns

Bacteria– Salmonella Typhoid fever– Shigellae Shigellosis– Escheria coli

Gastroenteritis– Vibrio cholerae Cholera– Legionella Legionellosis

Major organism (continued)

Enteric viruses– Enteroviruses Gastroenteritis,

polio, aseptic meningitis, heart anomalies

– Rotavirus Gastroenteritis– Hepatitis A Infectious

hepatitis– Norwalk agent Gastroenteritis

Major organisms (continued)

Protozoans– Giardia lamblia Giardiasis– Entamoeba histolytica Amebic dysentery– Cryptosporidium Cryptosporidiosis

Waterborne Disease Outbreak

An incident in which two or more persons experience a similar illness after consumption or use of water intended for drinking and epidemiological evidence implicates the water as the source of the illness.

Waterborne Disease Outbreaks in United States, 1995-1996

STATE ETIOLOGICAGENT

CASES OFILLNESS

New York, Alaska Giardia lamblia 1,459Florida Sodium Hydroxide 30Idaho, Oklahoma Shigella sonnei 93Idaho, Montana,Pennsylvania,South Dakota,Wisconsin, California

Gastroenteritis,undefined

683

Iowa Concentrated LiquidSoap

13

Minnesota E. Coli 0157:h7 33Wisconsin Small Round

Structured Virus148

Wisconsin Copper 37CaliforniaNew Jersey

Nitrate 9e:

Impact of Water Treatment on Health

After reviewing the cause of death in America during the late 1800’s and early 1900’s, the microbiologists Gainey and Lord concluded that:

“The purification of water and pasteurization of milk have saved more lives than all the wonder drugs ever devised.”

Future Concerns

Deteriorating infrastructure At-risk populations Shift is back to microbial contamination Best water sources already tapped-

– 70% earth’s surface is water of which– 3% is fresh of which only– 0.04% is usable

Expanding Demographics

More demand: Capacity Quality

Water Quality

Best sources already used Demand forces the use of poorer quality

sources– Surface sources– Groundwater

Pollution– Point sources– Non-point sources

Our challenge is:

How do we ensure safe drinking water for future generations?

At-risk populations?

Work Smarter

Source water protection

Conservation Education New technology

Summary

Water treatment relatively new (around the turn of the century)

Quantity then quality issues Water treatment can effectively control

outbreaks of waterborne disease

Hydrologic Cycle

Virginia GroundwaterPhysiographic Provinces

Valley and Ridge

Estimated recharge is 8.2 billion gal/dayTotal use = 389 million gal/day (1980)

Coastal Plain

Piedmont

Cumberland Plateau

Blue Ridge

Water Distribution and Availability

40 million cubic miles of water on or in the earth

Oceans = 97%

Fresh Water = 3%- Snow & Ice = 2.25%- Usable Groundwater = 0.3%- Surface Water < 0.5%

Primary Sources of Water

•Captured and stored rainfall in cisterns

•Groundwater from springs, artesian wells, & drilled/dug/bored wells

•Surface water from lakes, rivers, & streams

•Desalinized seawater or brackish groundwater

•Reclaimed water

Virginia’s Surface Water

27,000 miles of streams and rivers 10 major river basins Average discharge about 25 billion gal/day 248 lakes and reservoirs 212,875 acres of wetlands 2,382 square miles of estuaries

Surface Water

Photo Credit: Virginia Department of Health

Surface Water Quality

Widely variable quality:

- Upstream waste discharges

- Flash changes in quality (rivers, streams, small lakes)

- Algae blooms (rivers & lakes)

- Stratification & Turnover (lakes) Must be filtered & disinfected Difficult to protect source

Surface Water Quality

Pollution sourcesRunoff (agriculture, residential, urban)SpillsMunicipal and Industrial wastewater

dischargesRecreational usersNature

Pathways of Contamination

Paths of Water Flow within Watershed

Groundwater Quality

Generally high quality (chemical, bacteriological, and physical properties)

Used without filtration, if not “Under the Direct Influence of Surface Water” (GWUDI)

Used without disinfection if low coliform count

Groundwater Quality Contamination Threats

Failing septic systemsSaltwater intrusionImproper land disposal of wastesLeaking USTsHazardous materials spillsMisapplication of fertilizers and pesticidesImproperly abandoned wellsMiningNaturally occurring constituents

Questions?