AWWA WQTC60671

This paper examines the current practices for migration/leaching tests used to evaluate distribution system and plumbing materials and highlights the need to use representative water qualities (e.g., chlorine vs. chloramines) during tests. The effect of specific water qualities has become more critical in the U.S. as chloramines are increasingly used and problems such as degrading rubber gasket or leaching metals (copper and lead) are first experienced by consumers/sentinels and then reported to unsuspecting utilities. Also, because the standard procedures evaluate water on overall odor intensity, they do not necessarily provide information on individual aesthetic qualities which are critical in determining the source of taste-and-odor problems. A comparison of common migration tests - the Utility Quick Test, French Standard (AFNOR XP- P41-250-1), European Standard (EN 1420-1), British Standard (BS 6920) and the Australian and New Zealand Standard (AS/NZ 4020), has been made and available data for aesthetic testing of plumbing materials summarized. Case studies are presented, such as when phenol leached from an acrylic reservoir lining reacted with chlorine in the distribution system to form medicinal-smelling brominated compounds. Includes 23 references, tables.