Water Supply

Protection and delivery of high-quality water for public consumption and industrial use is of national importance. Population growth and urban/suburban development continue to challenge the nation’s ability to provide safe potable water for its citizens. HydroQual can assist public and private drinking water purveyors in meeting this challenge in a number of ways.

Watershed management, through control of land use, development density and facility siting, proximate to water supply reservoirs is one of the most important tools available to protect the quality of both on-site and off-site surface and subsurface water. Water quality modeling tools provide water quality managers and watershed planners with an iterative and interactive way of evaluating the effects of land use changes, population growth, and wastewater treatment facilities on pollutant loadings delivered to a water supply reservoir.

HydroQual has also used mathematical modeling to assess the effect of these pollutant loadings on water quality within the reservoir system itself. In particular, increased nutrient inputs to a water supply system can lead to undesirable algal blooms, which in turn can result in taste and odor problems and increased treatment costs. Mathematical modeling can also be used to assist in reservoir withdrawal schemes for reservoir systems with multiple water withdrawal ports.

The use of these mathematical modeling tools has also permitted HydroQual to evaluate the effectiveness of Best Management Practices (BMPs) on reducing pollutant inputs to reservoir systems. HydroQual can provide services to evaluate the type, size, and location of control measures to reduce the inputs of sediments (i.e., turbidity), fecal coliform bacteria and other pathogens, and nutrients to water supply systems.