Date on Master's Thesis/Doctoral Dissertation
5-2007
Document Type
Master's Thesis
Degree Name
M.S.
Department
Biology
Committee Chair
Alexander, James E.
Subject
Trihalomethane; Water pollution--Kentucky
Abstract
Water treatment facilities strive to provide potable drinking water to the community which they service. The most common way of insuring drinkable water that is free of pathogens is water chlorination, but this can lead to the production of carcinogenic disinfection byproducts. This study looks at two drinking water reservoirs that have known United States Environmental Protection Agency minimum contaminant level violations of trihalomethanes (THMs), a disinfection byproduct. Physical and chemical parameters of the two lakes were measured over the course of 13 months and analyses indicated that nitrate and soluble reactive phosphorus, along with temperature and pH, played a significant role in determining the THM formation potential (THMFP) in the lakes. A bench-top scale experiment used to determine if air oxidation could reduce THMFP showed that air oxidation could consistently reduce THMFP in finished drinking water, but raw water oxidation leads to variable reductions and increases in THMFP.
Recommended Citation
Pirkle, Richard Scott 1980-, "Trihalomethane formation potential in two Kentucky reservoirs." (2007). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. Paper 1140.
https://doi.org/10.18297/etd/1140
