The fate of disinfection byproducts (DBPs) in surface waters, which could serve as downstream
water supplies, receiving wastewater was evaluated (i.e., indirect potable reuse). This study
modeled five potential loss mechanisms (i.e., biodegradation, hydrolysis, photolysis, sorption,
and volatilization) in surface water for seven groups of DBPs: trihalomethanes (THMs),
haloacetic acids (HAAs), haloaldehydes, haloketones, haloacetonitriles (HANs),
halonitromethanes, and nitrosoamines. When possible, fundamental chemical properties were
used to predict critical parameters for the fate-and-transport equations. Otherwise, parameter
estimates were based upon literature or laboratory experiments. Removals of the DBPs, over a
fixed river reach, for three representative river systems (with variable depth and flowrate) were
considered. Results showed that sorption by suspended solids (SS) in the river is not an
important loss mechanism for any of the DBPs; and HAA loss by volatilization is negligible due
to the presence of primarily deprotonated anions. The most significant removal mechanism for
chloroform was volatilization. Includes tables, figures.