Characterizing Source Water Quality

Focus: Understanding and modeling the variability of source water quality in small rural communities (SRC) and the impacts of source water on drinking water treatment.

Currently, very little data on source water quality exists, without which it becomes difficult to evaluate the effectiveness of treatment and disinfection strategies.  Hence, many approaches to treating water in small systems have been based on data obtained for medium and large systems. These recommendations, however, may not be financially or technically feasible for many small systems. Our research projects looking at source water quality allow for an integrated approach to characterize and classify drinking water quality for SRCs, through incorporating chemical, biological and microbial variability of source water.  More importantly, these projects will generate the crucial data to support the development and dissemination of innovative and cost-effective treatment processes throughout the RES’EAU-WaterNET research program. 

Research Team:
Dr. Asit Mazumder, University of Victoria
Dr. Benoit Barbeau, École Polytechnique de Montréal
Dr. Pierre Bérubé, University of British Columbia
Dr. Gopal Achari, University of Calgary
Dr. Madjid Mohseni, University of British Columbia
Dr. Manuel Rodriguez, Université Laval
Dr. Rehan Sadiq, University of British Columbia Okanagan

Water Quality Research Projects