Drinking Water Supply Management: An Interactive Approach

James A. Goodrich
Robert M. Clark

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DOI: 10.2190/DPDD-5PCE-A00J-NAH2

Abstract

In February 1977, a massive discharge of carbon tetrachloride into the Kanawha River in West Virginia threatened much of the Ohio Valley with contaminated drinking water potentially affecting over one million consumers. This episode heightened the awareness of consumers and decision-makers alike to the relationship between wastewater discharges and drinking water consumption. This article examined the results of a study motivated by the carbon tetrachloride spill and examined interactions between industrial discharges and drinking water consumption in surface water supplies. The mechanism used to study the wastewater discharge water supply intake interaction was a water quality/quantity simulation model QUAL-II. QUAL-II was used to provide a framework to bring the diverse elements of mathematic modeling, fluid dynamics, organic chemistry and geography to create an interactive systems analysis approach that can have an impact on public policy in drinking water.

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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.