本研究的目的是表征镁沉淀、混凝剂（金属盐和聚合物）和次阴离子（磷酸盐和硫酸盐）对天然有机物和消毒副产物前体去除的作用；探索污泥循环用于强化软化，并制定循环实践指南；并且，检查前驱体去除和软化性能之间的关系。软化测试将在几个不同地点的水上进行，之所以选择这些地点，是因为相关的水处理厂都使用软化，而且水质的多样性预计将涵盖溶解有机碳、比紫外吸收率和实践中预期的Mg+2:Ca+2浓度比。 本文描述了这项研究的一些早期结果，仅限于奥斯汀水源的研究结果。

The objectives of this research were to characterize the role of magnesium precipitation, coagulants (both metal salts and polymers), and secondary anions (phosphate and sulfate) on natural organic matter and disinfection byproducts precursor removal; explore the use of sludge recycle in enhanced softening and develop guidance on recycle practices; and, examine the relationships between precursor removal and softening performance. Softening tests will be conducted on waters from several different locations, which were selected because the associated water treatment plants all use softening and because the variety of water quality is expected to cover the range of dissolved organic carbon, specific ultraviolet absorbance, and Mg+2:Ca+2 concentration ratios expected in practice. This paper describes some of the early results in this research and is limited to results from the Austin water source.