As part of a study of nitrification in the Sweetwater Authority (SWA) distribution
system, a unique monitoring and modeling program was carried out to characterize the
movement, transformation and mixing of water in the distribution system and in
distribution system tanks and reservoirs. The monitoring and modeling program was
composed of the following primary tasks: an innovative tracer study, which did not
require injection of a tracer chemical, in order to characterize movement through the
distribution system; validation of the SWA network model using tracer study results;
application of a network model to understand water quality dynamics in the
distribution system; measuring the vertical distribution of temperatures in several
tanks over a period of weeks in order to evaluate potential stratification; and, modeling
tank mixing and aging. Includes reference, table, figures.