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The goal of this case study was to provide pilot-scale information about the ability of ultraviolet (UV) light to disinfect unfiltered surface water. A pilot-scale (0.25 L/s) UV reactor with low-pressure UV lamps was installed on raw water entering an aqueduct from the Pardee Reservoir at the East Bay Municipal District, California. A pilot monitoring system also collected hourly particle count (2 to 100 m), turbidity, and ultraviolet transmittance (UVT) measurements for 14 months. Grab microbial samples were collected and analyzed for indigenous total coliforms and total aerobic spores (TAS) both before and after UV disinfection, to correlate survival of the organisms across the UV reactor to water quality characteristics. Concentrations of indigenous coliforms and TAS ranged up to 163 and 1,383 per 100 mL respectively, before UV exposure. The data showed that the ability of UV to disinfect coliforms was essentially unaffected by the presence of particles (up to 703>10 m per mL and 1.3 nephelometric turbidity unit [NTU]) in the unfiltered surface water. In 13 of 14 samples, no coliforms were detected in the UV treated water. Log-linear inactivation of TAS up to 2.5-log suggests that at least 99.6% of the TAS were not protected from UV disinfection by particles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Sierra Nevada Mountain range serves as an important source of drinking water for the State of California. However, summer cattle grazing on federal lands affects the overall water quality yield from this essential watershed as cattle manure is washed into the lakes and streams or directly deposited into these bodies of water. This organic pollution introduces harmful microorganisms and also provides nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorus which increase algae growth causing eutrophication of otherwise naturally oligotrophic mountain lakes and streams. Disinfection and filtration of this water by municipal water districts after it flows downstream will become increasingly costly. This will be compounded by increasing surface water temperatures and the potential for toxins release by cyanobacteria blooms. With increasing demands for clean water for a state population approaching 40 million, steps need to be implemented to mitigate the impact of cattle on the Sierra Nevada watershed. Compared to lower elevations, high elevation grazing has the greatest impact on the watershed because of fragile unforgiving ecosystems. The societal costs from non-point pollution exceed the benefit achieved through grazing of relatively few cattle at the higher elevations. We propose limiting summer cattle grazing on public lands to lower elevations, with a final goal of allowing summer grazing on public lands only below 1,500m elevation in the Central and Northern Sierra and 2,000m elevation in the Southern Sierra. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article presents a list of major points made in articles in this issue. Facts and figures are presented on "California's County and City Environmental Health Services Delivery System," including the major challenges faced by the state's health agencies. The outline of the report "Sharing Environmental Health Practice in the North American Arctic: A Focus on Water and Wastewater Service," is included which highlights the funding issues of maintaining safe water supplies in the harsh, rural climate.

Danish pump manufacturer Grundfos has acquired Enaqua, a San Diego, California, USA-based company specialising in UV technology to disinfect water and in membranes for water purification. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Reports on the negative impact of groundwater recharge on water supply quality, according to a study conducted in California. Accumulation of contaminants following repeated injection, storage and recovery cycles; Toxic byproducts of water disinfection processes.