Investigating and Characterizing Water Quality Degradation Risks in Canadian Water Distribution Systems

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There is growing recognition that drinking water distribution systems (DWDS) are dynamic bioreactors that can facilitate the accumulation/release of metals that can have deleterious effects on human health. The City of Calgary has identified emerging problems linked to metal accumulation and release such as coagulant carry-over, pH variability, metal release in dead-ends and a protracted water age at many locations. The Drinking Water Quality Group at Queen's University and the City of Calgary are partnering to develop a risk assessment and mitigation framework to assist Canadian municipalities to assess water quality risk and optimize operation and maintenance strategies to protect DWDS quality. This framework will 1) identify factors that drive metal accumulation and water quality risks, ii) examine mechanisms that lead to the accumulation/release of metals, iii) optimize unidirectional flushing operations to prevent water quality problems, and iv) develop a data-driven machine-learning tool to predict water quality risks and assist Canadian municipalities in planning their system operations and maintenance strategies. Eight HQP (4 PhDs and 4 UGs) will be trained in a high-quality training environment in accordance with the principles of EDI that promotes the development of HQP to be strong, independent researchers capable of developing novel approaches to solve practical research problems that benefit the water industry. The research will benefit the Canadian water industry by (1) delineating the role of aluminum sinks in contaminant accumulation and improving our understanding of their formation and management, (2) developing a risk prediction framework that will assist Canadian municipalities in planning and optimizing operation and maintenance interventions to protect drinking water quality.