Drinking water utilities face a double-edged sword. The chlorine being used to make our water more drinkable, when it reacts with natural organic matter found in it, may actually make the water more harmful.

But original research by Environmental Chemistry Professor Martha Wells and Mechanical Engineering Professor Glenn Cunningham will help drinking water utilities across the country, including those that draw water from local lakes, to predict the potential for a specific danger. Trihalomethane, or THM, is a cancer-causing agent that forms when natural organic matter in drinking water reacts with the chlorine used to treat it. Wells and Cunningham’s new approach will help detect the potential for THM formation faster and more accurately than current Environmental Protection Agency techniques.

“THM forms when soil, leaves and other natural organic matter wash off into water and chemically react with the chlorine used to disinfect it,” explains Wells. “If the matter is not removed before the water is chlorinated, there’s the potential for dangerous THM buildup.”

Current EPA tests detect THM after the water is chlorinated, which has proven to be inadequate to fight the problem. Beyond its cancer-causing potential, THM has also been linked to spontaneous miscarriages in women. Presently, water treatment centers must take the time to collect samples and take them to labs for testing. They also are allowed to report average levels to the EPA.

“Our ultimate goal is to measure for the precursors to THM while the water is going through the pipe,” says Wells. “An online system with near real-time answers will allow water treatment operators to make adjustments to the water before chlorine is added.”

Wells says one option water treatment systems have is to mix ground water, such as well water, with the contaminated surface water. Ground water is relatively clean and free from organic runoff.

Wells developed the analytical approach to interpreting the data, and Cunningham designed the equipment that will be used to analyze the water. Currently, the research team is operating under a pending patent to protect the original idea and design. Students are working to perfect the testing in the lab while developing the online method.

Wells and Cunningham predict that 10,000-plus water treatment systems across the country could benefit from the new method. They surveyed water utilities to measure the interest in an instrument to better predict the potential for by-product formation.

“We would like for the water utilities to be able to test water samples using the system and have a response within minutes,” says Wells.

The research has the potential to improve water quality for millions of Americans because larger water treatment centers are tested most often and would benefit on a regular basis from a faster, more accurate test.

“Our test also provides more in-depth information than what is currently available, and it detects subtle differences in water from different geographic locations,” says Wells. “The water in Los Angeles and Cookeville is different in terms of the organic matter found, and our test is sensitive to those type of differences.”

Wells points out that the success of the project is due to the interdisciplinary approach taken with most projects through the Center for Management, Utilization and Protection of Water Resources.

“It’s almost impossible for one discipline to create solutions for water quality problems without the help of others,” says Wells. “This project would not have happened without Glenn’s expertise in mechanical engineering and mine in environmental chemistry.”