Privatization of Water Services in the United States

Privatization of Water Services in the United States

Author: National Research Council

Publisher: National Academies Press

Published: 2002-09-20

Total Pages: 159

ISBN-13: 0309074444

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In the quest to reduce costs and improve the efficiency of water and wastewater services, many communities in the United States are exploring the potential advantages of privatization of those services. Unlike other utility services, local governments have generally assumed responsibility for providing water services. Privatization of such services can include the outright sale of system assets, or various forms of public-private partnershipsâ€"from the simple provision of supplies and services, to private design construction and operation of treatment plants and distribution systems. Many factors are contributing to the growing interest in the privatization of water services. Higher operating costs, more stringent federal water quality and waste effluent standards, greater customer demands for quality and reliability, and an aging water delivery and wastewater collection and treatment infrastructure are all challenging municipalities that may be short of funds or technical capabilities. For municipalities with limited capacities to meet these challenges, privatization can be a viable alternative. Privatization of Water Services evaluates the fiscal and policy implications of privatization, scenarios in which privatization works best, and the efficiencies that may be gained by contracting with private water utilities.


Identifying Future Drinking Water Contaminants

Identifying Future Drinking Water Contaminants

Author: National Research Council

Publisher: National Academies Press

Published: 1999-09-30

Total Pages: 277

ISBN-13: 0309064325

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With an increasing population, use of new and diverse chemicals that can enter the water supply, and emergence of new microbial pathogens, the U.S. federal government is faced with a regulatory dilemma: Where should it focus its attention and limited resources to ensure safe drinking water supplies for the future? Identifying Future Drinking Water Contaminants is based on a 1998 workshop on emerging drinking water contaminants. It includes a dozen papers that were presented on new and emerging microbiological and chemical drinking water contaminants, associated analytical and water treatment methods for their detection and removal, and existing and proposed environmental databases to assist in their proactive identification and regulation. The papers are preceded by a conceptual approach and related recommendations to EPA for the periodic creation of future Drinking Water Contaminant Candidate Lists (CCLsâ€"produced every five yearsâ€"include currently unregulated chemical and microbiological substances that are known or anticipated to occur in public water systems and that may pose health risks).


Comprehensive Water Quality and Purification

Comprehensive Water Quality and Purification

Author:

Publisher: Elsevier

Published: 2013-09-24

Total Pages: 1537

ISBN-13: 0123821835

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Comprehensive Water Quality and Purification, Four Volume Set provides a rich source of methods for analyzing water to assure its safety from natural and deliberate contaminants, including those that are added because of carelessness of human endeavors. Human development has great impact on water quality, and new contaminants are emerging every day. The issues of sampling for water analysis, regulatory considerations, and forensics in water quality and purity investigations are covered in detail. Microbial as well as chemical contaminations from inorganic compounds, radionuclides, volatile and semivolatile compounds, disinfectants, herbicides, and pharmaceuticals, including endocrine disruptors, are treated extensively. Researchers must be aware of all sources of contamination and know how to prescribe techniques for removing them from our water supply. Unlike other works published to date that concentrate on issues of water supply, water resource management, hydrology, and water use by industry, this work is more tightly focused on the monitoring and improvement of the quality of existing water supplies and the recovery of wastewater via new and standard separation techniques Using analytical chemistry methods, offers remediation advice on pollutants and contaminants in addition to providing the critical identification perspective The players in the global boom of water purification are numerous and varied. Having worked extensively in academia and industry, the Editor-in-Chief has been careful about constructing a work for a shared audience and cause


Safe Water From Every Tap

Safe Water From Every Tap

Author: National Research Council

Publisher: National Academies Press

Published: 1996-12-30

Total Pages: 228

ISBN-13: 0309175437

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Small communities violate federal requirements for safe drinking water as much as three times more often than cities. Yet these communities often cannot afford to improve their water service. Safe Water From Every Tap reviews the risks of violating drinking water standards and discusses options for improving water service in small communities. Included are detailed reviews of a wide range of technologies appropriate for treating drinking water in small communities. The book also presents a variety of institutional options for improving the management efficiency and financial stability of water systems.