It is well known that increased turbidity in drinking water has
a negative effect on an ultraviolet (UV) disinfection system.
Current published research supports the use of UV disinfection
after filtration only when turbitidy is 1 ntu and lower. For
drinking water with elevated levels of turbidity from 1 to 10 ntu
and beyond, the effectiveness of UV light for disinfection is not
well understood.
The authors studied the effects of elevated turbidity on the
transmission of UV light, as well as on UV reactor design and
operation. Their conclusions provide evidence that UV light disinfection
can be implemented into systems with elevated turbidity
of up to 10 ntu, such as before filtration and for unfiltered systems.
Especially when used for large, unfiltered systems, this
technique will provide cost-effective water disinfection. The
authors also offer information about how to account for the
effects of elevated turbidity by properly measuring unfiltered UV
absorbance, which is a key water quality parameter for UV reactor
design and operation. Includes 32 references, tables, figures.