Real-time condition monitoring and early warning of failure of potable water using novel fluorescence spectroscopy instrumentation

The Water Industry Act, the Water Supply (Water Quality) Regulations and the Private Water Supplies Regulations place a duty on water companies to supply water that is wholesome at the time and point of supply. It is a criminal offence to supply water that is unfit for human consumption. Wholesomeness is defined by reference to prescribed concentrations assigned to various microbiological, chemical and physical parameters. Prescribed concentrations or values for microbiological parameters rely on indicator organisms, such as coliform bacteria, E. coli and colony counts. In addition to meeting standards, water must not contain any micro-organism or parasite at a concentration which would constitute a potential danger to human health. To help safeguard quality of water supply, there is an urgent national and international need to provide novel real-time water quality assessment tools and techniques. It is proposed here that an innovative solution to this issue is to exploit the fluorescence characteristics of drinking water through the development of novel instrumentation. All water fluoresces; however most of the fluorescence is emitted in the ultraviolet, so it is invisible to the human eye. However, off-the-shelf equipment can detect this fluorescence. Previous work has identified relationships between fluorescence and river (i.e. raw) water quality. Specifically, it has been shown that fluorescence emitted at 340-370 nm under excitation at 220-240nm or 270-280nm (tryptophan-like fluorescence) is indicative of microbial activity, whilst fluorescence emitted at 400-480nm under excitation at 300-360nm (fulvic-like fluorescence) is indicative of the presence of organic carbon. The sensitivity of fluorescence spectroscopy to microbial material presents the opportunity to effect a major step change in water quality assessment techniques, moving beyond the dated and limited use of indicator organisms, to enhance security of supply to customers. This project focuses on the design, rigorous testing (progressing from bench top to field prototype) and implementation of the first all-LED dual peak potable water quality assessment tool for deployment within water distribution systems. This would represent a significant advance in the real-time assessment of water quality and proactive management of potable water distribution systems.The potential application and benefits of the impacts from this research are significant. The project's deliverables will have a direct impact upon:1. the nation's health (through its improvements to network supply and management of safe water resources) and2. the nation's wealth through cost savings achieved through optimisation of sampling and analysis of networks and an anticipated reduction in analysis costs compared to current approaches.The beneficiaries of these impacts are diverse and include:1. the general public,2. the commercial private sector (e.g. instrument manufacturers and private water companies),3. regulators (e.g. in the UK the Environment Agency and the Drinking Water Inspectorate),4. legislators and planners, 5. UK-based and international academics.

The proposed research falls within the EPSRC signposted 'Water Engineering' theme 'Real-time condition monitoring and early warning of failure' and will enhance the water industry's real-time proactive management of networks. Thus, the timeliness of this proposal is clear. This is a novel, multi-institution project with the degree of risk balanced by the potential of high return and impact. The research outlined in this proposal is truly adventurous and transformative in nature. If successful, the scientific and technological developments will lead to radically new means of assessing treated water quality. Not only does it bring new insight into water science and characterisation together with technological innovation, the research also offers novel developments in water quality assessment techniques at a time when they are most needed, offering the industry a step change from time-consuming microbial enumeration of discrete samples to real-time, in-situ, continuous analysis and management of water quality. Instrument output can be used to assess risks associated with chlorine addition, microbial presence, and TOC concentration, giving the user a robust tool to provide an initial assessment of quality, and to identify systems at risk of compliance failure and to public health. Furthermore, delivery of the current sustainability agenda (e.g. successful implementation of, inter alia, rainwater harvesting, greywater reuse and local groundwater abstraction) requires cheap, reliable and deskilled means of measuring water quality. Thus, the potential application and benefits of the impacts from this research are many-fold. Consequently, the project's deliverables will have a direct impact upon: (1) the nation's health (through its improvements to network supply and management of safe water resources) and (2) the nation's wealth through cost savings achieved through optimisation of sampling and analysis of networks and an anticipated (although currently undefined) reduction in analysis costs compared to colony counting. Importantly, the project has been designed such that the deliverables are phased, with the first benefits being realised after the first year with the tap assessment device, and the in-situ distribution device deployed the following year so that the real, tangible benefits are realised as soon as possible. The beneficiaries of these impacts are diverse and include: 1. the general public, 2. the commercial private sector (e.g. instrument manufacturers and private water companies), 3. regulators (e.g. in the UK the Environment Agency and the Drinking Water Inspectorate), 4. legislators and planners, 5. UK-based and international academics. The means by which these beneficiaries will realise the benefits are laid out in the attached Impact Plan, but key to this will be effective project management. Bridgeman and Boxall are experienced academic researchers. Baker will provide a scientific overview throughout. He will routinely provide expert opinion on datasets and will contribute to meetings via video conferencing or in person. However, the fact that Baker is based overseas means that the project will have continuous global coverage and interest throughout its lifetime, generating real global impact. The Investigators will liaise with the industrial partners to facilitate the transfer of knowledge and technology from research to the field and vice versa. Project direction will be driven by a Steering Committee, the composition and role of which is discussed in the Impact Plan. This complex project requires appropriate management. A schedule of project risks and associated mitigation strategies will be created and monitored by the PDRF and PI. Project risks and timelines will be managed continually as part of the Project Plan, all ultimately geared to delivering the high impacts which are available.