Characterization of natural organic matter and trihalomethane formation potential for NOM fractions isolated from two surface water sources in Manitoba

Abstract

The objective of this study was to evaluate the removal of natural organic matter (NOM) fractions, from the Portage la Prairie water treatment plant (PPWTP), which uses the Assiniboine River as a source, and the Morris water treatment plant (MWTP), which takes water from the Red River, to establish the NOM removal efficiency. The PPWTP sample set for total DOC removal by the plant found the granular activated carbon (GAC) filter was inefficiently removing dissolved organic carbon (DOC) from the water, often with concentrations increasing post-GAC. It was found that one sample set from the MWTP showed that NOM was not being removed by the nano filter with NOM increasing post-nano filtration, from 8.7mg/L to 10.2 mg/L. However, it was found that most of the time the nano filter was operating as manufacturer design showing a reduction of NOM post nano filter to <0.5mg/L.