Andrew Eaton

Occurrence and suitability of sucralose as an indicator compound of wastewater loading to surface waters in urbanized regions.

Urban watersheds are susceptible to numerous pollutant sources and the identification of source-specific indicators can provide a beneficial tool in the identification and control of input loads, often times needed for a water body to achieve designated beneficial uses. Differentiation of wastewater flows from other urban wet weather flows is needed in order to more adequately address such environmental concerns as water body nutrient impairment and potable source water contamination. Anthropogenic compounds previously suggested as potential wastewater indicators include caffeine, carbamazepine, N,N-diethyl-meta-toluamide (DEET), gemfibrozil, primidone, sulfamethoxazole, and TCEP. This paper compares the suitability of a variety of anthropogenic compounds to sucralose, an artificial sweetener, as wastewater indicators by examining occurrence data for 85 trace organic compounds in samples of wastewater effluents, source waters with known wastewater point source inputs, and sources without known wastewater point source inputs. The findings statistically demonstrate the superior performance of sucralose as a potential indicator of domestic wastewater input in the U.S. While several compounds were detected in all of the wastewater effluent samples, only sucralose was consistently detected in the source waters with known wastewater discharges, absent in the sources without wastewater influence, and consistently present in septic samples. All of the other compounds were prone to either false negatives or false positives in the environment.

GETTING THE MOST FROM A CONTRACT LABORATORY

With todays regulatory and staff pressures, an increasing number of water utilities are considering the use of an outside contract laboratory for all or part of their analytical needs. This article is intended as a guide for utilities in selecting a contract laboratory to best serve their requirements. Among the desirable qualities sought in an outside laboratory are current certification, a familiarity with drinking water analysis, and an established quality control program. Cost is an important but not primary consideration, because costs can be contained without a loss of efficiency. A request for proposals and subsequent bids help to eliminate unsuitable laboratories. The authors explain the importance of building a partnership with the selected laboratoiy in order to maximize the benefits of such an arrangement.