AWWA WQTC65998

Amino acids and amino sugars (AAAS) are important for drinking water treatment, because they can serve as substrate for biological activity, can serve as indicators for soluble microbial products, and may be precursors for the formation of nitrogenous disinfection byproducts. Despite these important needs, very little work is available to understand the nature of amino acids in drinking waters. The goal of this project was to measure amino acids in dissolved organic matter (DOM) isolates and bulk waters from drinking water sources. The samples, both bulk water and DOM, were collected from waters affected by seasonal algal blooms or wastewater discharges. Bulk water samples were collected from 10 full scale water treatment plants (WTPs) across the country during the summer/fall of 2006. The samples were analyzed for a multitude of water quality including: dissolved organic carbon (DOC), ultraviolet absorbance (UVA), total dissolved nitrogen (TDN), dissolved inorganic nitrogen (DIN), and dissolved organic nitrogen (DON). A 500 milliliter (mL) aliquot was concentrated and freeze dried for determination of AAAS. DOM was fractionated and isolated from two wastewater discharges, a drinking water reservoir, and two laboratory cultures of algae and bacteria. DOM was fractionated according to Leenheer et. al (2007), which enriched selected fractions with organic nitrogen. The isolates were characterized by the following methods: Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR); solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR); and, elemental analysis. The isolated DOM fractions were freeze dried and stored in a desiccator. For this study, the nitrogen rich colloidal organic matter fraction is discussed. Includes 8 references, tables, figure.