Hygienic regulation of drinking water quality as a mainspring of the water treatment technology upgrade

Summary

The aspects of developing the domestic regulatory environment on drinking water quality are considered together with the effect of the tendency of introducing additional requirements on the water treatment technology by the example of the Moscow public water supply. The drinking water quality requirements both in our country and abroad are based on the criteria established by the World Health Organization in the middle of the last century. In different countries the requirements may differ depending on the national drinking water policy represented by the legislation, standards and other statutory regulations. In the Russian Federation the drinking water quality standards are determined by the sanitary-epidemiologic legislation that specifies the maximum permissible concentrations of all the regulated pollutants. The current requirements to the drinking water quality determine the process solutions implemented at the water treatment plants. Introduction of the new regulatory requirements has become a powerful impulse to upgrading the existing facilities and retrofitting new advanced methods into the treatment technology. Thus, tightening the regulations on the concentration of chlorination byproducts and the requirements to the epidemic safety (regulating viral and parasitary contamination) resulted in the methodical work on upgrading the Moscow water treatment plants with the introduction of ozonation and activated carbon filtration and membrane filtration. Even today the water treatment plants with advanced treatment facilities that guarantee water purification to the regulatory requirements supply more than 40% of the Moscow drinking water. At the same time the current regulatory documents contain inconsistencies that necessitate taking expensive measures to improve the drinking water quality. Considering the activities on revising the current requirements it is necessary to pay special attention to the harmonization of separate statutory regulations.

Key words

potable water quality , water treatment facilities , regulatory requirements , State Standard (GOST) , sanitary regulations and standards

Measures to supply Samara Urban District with drinking water from surface and underground water sources in accordance with 2.1.3684-21 and 1.2.3685-21 Sanitary Rules and Regulations

Summary

In accordance with the Resolution of the Chief Sanitary Doctor of the Russian Federation dated January 28, 2021 No. 3, new sanitary rules and regulations have been approved and in force in the Russian Federation from March 1, 2021, requiring a more stringent approach to the quality of purified water: SanPiN 2.1.3684-21 «Sanitary and epidemiological requirements to the maintenance of the territories of urban and rural communities, to water bodies, drinking water and drinking water supply, atmospheric air, soil, residential premises, operation of industrial and public premises, arrangement and implementation of sanitary and antiepidemic (preventive) measures» and SanPiN 1.2.3685-21 «Hygienic standards and requirements to ensure the safety and (or) harmlessness of environmental factors to humans». In this regard, the specialists of Samara Utility Systems LLC are carrying out a comprehensive upgrade and reconstruction of the water supply and wastewater disposal systems in Samara with the purpose of improving integrally the qualitative and quantitative performance of the systems. Measures have been developed for the reconstruction and modernization of water treatment facilities to provide for the concentration of residual aluminum and chloroform meeting the sanitary standards. The implementation of the activities is planned for the period from 2024 to 2041.

Key words

monitoring , water treatment , potable water quality , manganese , residual aluminium , chlororganic compounds , total iron , sanitary regulations and standards , surface water supply source , underground water sources , total hardness

On the introduction of new sanitary and epidemiological requirements for drinking water supply

Summary

The main source of water supply for the urban district of Samara is the Saratov reservoir. The municipal water treatment facilities were built according to the standard design and intended for clarification and disinfection of moderately polluted water. In recent years, a sharp decrease in the concentration of suspended solids and an increase in the concentration of organic pollutants (mainly of natural origin) have been observed in the water of the source. At low water temperature, high color indices and permanganate index, the need arises for continuous monitoring the optimal doses of chemicals in order to prevent the formation of residual aluminum in the purified water and permanganate index exceeding the MPC values in accordance with SanPiN 2.1.4.1074-01. By Decree of the RF Chief Sanitary Officer No. 3 of January 28, 2021, new sanitary rules and regulations have been approved and effective in the Russian Federation since March 1, 2021: SanPiN 2.1.3684-21 and SanPiN 1.2.3685-21 that require a more stringent approach to the quality of the purified water. The validity period of the current SanPiNs is until March 1, 2027; however, they do not provide for a transitional period for the operators of water supply and wastewater disposal systems that have to arrange and conduct epidemiological (preventive) measures to ensure drinking and domestic water supply meeting the requirements of SanPiN 2.1.3684-21 and SanPiN 1.2.3685-21. The water treatment facilities in Samara in the transition period need upgrade, and some of them need reconstruction. To carry out the research specified in the regulatory documents, updating the equipment of production laboratories and expanding the scope of their accreditation are needed. Equipping accredited laboratories with advanced means of comprehensive monitoring of drinking water quality will improve the efficiency and reliability of the analysis results.

Key words

turbidity , chromaticity , water treatment , water quality , pumping-filtration station , residual aluminium , permanganate oxidizability , sanitary regulations and standards