UDC 613.31
DOI 10.35776/VST.2026.06.01

Bykov Viktor

On drinking water (part 1)

Summary

The use of drinking water as an additional source of essential macro- and microelements for the human life is analyzed. Drinking water quality standards, including permissible element concentrations and dietary reference intake, are systematized and compiled into common tables. To estimate the drinking water quality, taking into consideration the colloidal index (SDI) that reflects the concentration and size of colloids and, accordingly, the ability of drinking water to contaminate cell membranes in the human body is proposed. Earlier published data on the effects of 25 elements added to drinking water on the lifespan of mice and rats are summarized and presented in graphs.

Key words

potable water , water quality parameters , microelements , colloidal index , lifespan of individuals

UDC 628.166.1:543.08
DOI 10.35776/VST.2026.06.02

Gvozdev V. A., Portnova Tat’iana, Nesterova Tatiana, Kvilinskaia Kira, Andreeva Margarita, Sukhoruchkina Natal’ia, Vitkovskaia Raisa, Volkov Konstantin, Dudina Nina, Umnova Irina, Galich Alexey

Methods of monitoring water chlorination technology at the water treatment facilities of SUE «Vodokanal of St. Petersburg»

Summary

The paper considers residual chlorine control methods at the water treatment facilities of SUE «Vodokanal of St. Petersburg». The information on the methods for monitoring various forms of residual chlorine before water from the water treatment facilities is supplied to the distribution network is presented, including the cases where drinking water after disinfection with chloramines, is further chlorinated excluding ammonia-containing chemicals. It is shown that while using chlorine-containing chemicals, the regulated parameters (free or bound active chlorine) are determined by the disinfection technology. The method for managing and monitoring the chlorammoniation process, developed by the Federal Budgetary Institution of Health «Center for Hygiene and Epidemiology in St. Petersburg and the Leningrad Region» and SUE «Vodokanal of St. Petersburg», ensures effective disinfection during water treatment and compliance with sanitary legislation on drinking water quality. Chlorinating drinking water after chlorammoniation results in the formation of predominantly bound chlorine compounds. Based on the obtained test results, technical and metrological characteristics, the AMI Codes-II CC residual active chlorine analyzer or similar devices can be used to control water disinfection using chlorine-containing disinfectants at water treatment facilities.

Key words

chloramines , water disinfection , total residual chlorine , combined residual chlorine , free residual chlorine

UDC 628.113
DOI 10.35776/VST.2026.06.03

Maslenikov Pavel, Makarova S. V.

Optimized operation of water intake structures of a metropolis: analyzing the problems and innovative solutions through the example of the Main Water Treatment Plant of Saint-Petersburg

Summary

The problems of operating slotted filter heads suffering seasonal icing and biofouling at the water intake structures of the Main Water Treatment Plant in St. Petersburg are analyzed. Cleaning methods (air, water, air scouring, and unit bypass mode) are considered alongside with the process efficiency, economic costs, and environmental impact estimation. Upgrade options are proposed, i. e. replacing slotted filter heads with umbrella-type ones and installing water treatment equipment or protective nets. The need for switching to integrated substantive solutions to ensure long-term reliability and uninterrupted water supply in the metropolis is substantiated.

Key words

water supply , reliability , economic efficiency , water abstraction facilities , щелевой фильтр-оголовок , biofouling , icing , umbrella-type filter head

UDC 628.22
DOI 10.35776/VST.2026.06.04

Yegorov N. L., Loitzker Oskar

Discrete-marking method for measuring the flow rate of large open-surface water flows

Summary

A method for measuring water flow rate in long large-diameter pipe, canals, and small rivers, based on observing the natural transport of probe beads of neutral buoyancy that are macroscopic models of liquid particles is considered. This approach implements the Lagrange method for describing liquid flow where the metrological feature of measuring the average flow velocity is using two basic physical quantities – length and time – by-passing the corresponding verification scheme for the quantities «flow rate and liquid amount», thereby eliminating the methodological accuracy error. The parameters of the turbulent diffusion that provides for the velocity of a probe bead self-averaging over a sufficiently large distance, are analyzed. Formulas for calculating the spatial and time parameters of the observed object while scheduling experimental measurements are presented. Estimates of the expected metrological characteristics are obtained. Options for the technological implementation of the measurement method are proposed.

Key words

water flow , large-diameter pipe and canals , turbulent diffusion , measuring technique , discrete-marking method , metrological characteristics

UDC 628.179.34
DOI 10.35776/VST.2026.06.05

Mel’nikova Natal’ia, Krymov Roman, Mel’nikova Tat’iana

Method for detecting pipeline leaks using neural networks and dynamic transient modeling to improve the integrity of water supply systems

Summary

A method for detecting pipeline leaks using neural networks and dynamic transient modeling to improve the integrity of water supply systems is presented. The leak detection and localization method combines an approach based on real-time transient models with artificial neural networks. The method provides for combining the analytical data available before the system startup with real-time data represented by measured process signals. Real-time data can be presented before and during the system operation providing for the flexible information processing.

Key words

water supply system , leak monitoring , transient modeling , artificial neural networks , data base

UDC 621.643:669.13
DOI 10.35776/VST.2026.06.06

Nosov Viktor, Pripadcheva Natal’ia, Ugriumov Vladimir

Cast iron. Out of the past to the future

Summary

The results of studying gray cast iron pipes after long-term, trouble-free operation (up to 278 years) are presented. The chemical composition, microstructure, and mechanical properties were studied, and the corrosion resistance was analyzed. It was shown that with a course of time a cast iron pipe does not turn into a graphite shell, retaining, however, 90% of its original structure: a non-oxidized metallic core and inclusions of flaked graphite. A protective layer of graphite and corrosion products gradually forms on the surface of the cast iron pipe, preventing, as confirmed by a long-term field experiment, the development of corrosion processes deep into the metal. It was confirmed that cast iron is not susceptible to pitch and pitting corrosion, whereas the heavy wall thickness is due to the poor mechanical properties of gray cast iron. Thus, it can be concluded that cast iron is a reliable, stable, and time-tested material for the construction of water pipelines.

Key words

UDC 628.315
DOI 10.35776/VST.2026.06.07

Zalyotova N. A., Zalyotov S. V.

Features of achieving standard wastewater treatment indicators in the process of implementing projects for the upgrade of wastewater treatment facilities

Summary

There is currently an urgent need to upgrade wastewater treatment facilities extensively built across the USSR in the 1970s and 1980s. By now, they are obsolete and outmoded. Moreover, the technologies used at the time they were built cannot provide for meeting the current requirements for the composition of effluents discharged into water bodies. The first large-scale wastewater treatment facility reconstruction project in the modern Russian history was the «Volga Reclamation» Federal Project, that involved the upgrade or new construction of 139 wastewater treatment facilities located in the Volga River catchment basin. However, a review of the project progress by a parliamentary oversight group revealed numerous systemic problems in the wastewater treatment sector, preventing virtually all completed projects from achieving the required performance standards. The interdepartmental body Incident no. 55 «Wastewater treatment facilities» was entrusted with investigating the situation and finding a solution. One of the identified problems is the inadequate standardization and monitoring system for discharged effluents that sets the requirements for the elimination of pollutants that are impossible to remove by the existing biological treatment technologies for technical and economic reasons. This issue requires immediate resolution, taking into account the interests of all stakeholders, as inactivity could lead to a lack of interest from qualified construction companies in the projects of upgrading wastewater treatment facilities and, consequently, to the complete degradation of the existing facilities, causing irreparable harm to the environment.

Key words

wastewater biological treatment , municipal wastewater treatment facilities , pollution discharge regulations , the Volga River reclamation

Zakharov Iurii

The 29th China International Trenchless Technology Conference and Exhibition (ITTC 2026)

Summary

С 22 по 24 апреля 2026 г. в Национальном выставочном центре г. Тяньзинь (КНР) прошла ­29-я Китайская Международная конференция и выставка бестраншейных технологий (ITTC 2026).
В работе выставки приняли участие 124 компании, преимущественно китайские, которые представили свои разработки в области строительства и санации трубопроводов систем водоснабжения и водоотведения. В связи с отсутствием представителей европейских и американских компаний выставка позволила оценить достижения и тенденции развития отрасли в Китае.

TECHNOVOD–2026 XVII International Scientific and Practical Conference

Summary

25–29 мая 2026 г. «ТЕХНОВОД–2026» вновь собрал участников конференции в столице мирового казачества – городе Новочеркасске. И это не случайно. Первая международная научно-практическая конференция «Технологии очистки воды» состоялась в Новочеркасске в октябре 2004 г. Одним из вдохновителей и идеологов ее проведения был Лев Николаевич Фесенко, профессор, д.т.н., в последующем ставший бессменным сопредседателем организационного комитета и редактором традиционно выпускаемого сборника материалов и докладов. К огромному сожалению, в сентябре 2025 г. Лев Николаевич ушел из жизни.