Drinking water treatment - understanding the processes and meeting the challenges

On and follow Natural organic matter (NOM) derived from soil and vegetation in water catchments is the key factor influencing most, if not all water treatment processes. The structure of the NOM and its involvement in water treatment processes requires better understanding. It seems likely that a better understanding of NOM reactions could lead to far better predictive capacity for water treatment designers and operators. Certainly the removal of NOM as a first step to the production of drinking water has many attractions. This paper provides an overview of work done by the author and many of his colleagues to advance this issue.