WATER & WASTE TREATMENT TOC ANALYSIS IS KEY TO QUALITY
Mike Seed, IRMS sales and product manager, Elementar UK, says TOC analysis for water testing is more important than ever. He explains why
the first and most important priorities for the UK’s water and waste treatment sectors. This applies both to ensuring that the population has access to pure, hygienic drinking water, and that the nation’s natural and manmade waterways and bodies of water are kept clean and clear. This is also an area in which the industry is
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coming under increased scrutiny, and pressure to improve its standards. Over the last year, evidence has emerged that some of the government’s efforts to improve the UK’s water environment have stalled, with high-profile pollution incidents and monitoring problems hitting the headlines. As such, it has never been more important
for the sector to invest properly in gold standard methods such as total organic carbon (TOC) analysis to ensure that the purity of the UK’s waters remains fit for purpose. Although the UK is known internationally for
the high quality of its drinking water, recent figures and developments from the government have indicated that the country is falling short of expectations on a number of other water quality metrics. In the 12 months leading up to March 2021,
the number of harmful water pollution incidents recorded by the Environment Agency rose by almost a quarter compared to the year before. Meanwhile, water classification results from the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra) showed that only 16% of England’s waters and 14% of rivers currently meet the criteria for “good ecological status” as of September 2020, meaning no progress has been made since 2016. As such, the Environment Agency stated in
July 2021 that improvements to the overall quality of the UK’s water environment “have plateaued”, citing the challenges of climate
32 SEPTEMBER 2021 | PROCESS & CONTROL
aintaining the highest possible standards of water purity is one of
change, biodiversity, population growth and emerging chemical contaminants as key factors. Sadly, it would seem that the water industry
itself has a part to play in these declining standards. Earlier in July, Southern Water was handed a record £90 million fine after pleading guilty for making thousands of illegal discharges of sewage into rivers and coastal waters between 2010 and 2015. These offences were shown to be caused by deliberate failings, causing major harm to protected areas, conservation sites and oyster beds, while the firm misled the Environment Agency about its compliance with the law.
The vital role of TOC analysis The only way these troubling trends are likely to be reversed is through an industry-wide recommitment to constant vigilance in the area of water testing and quality analysis. In order to achieve this, TOC analysis has an
The vario toc cube (pictured here) and the acquray (bottom)
important role to play. By assessing the amount of TOC and total
bound nitrogen (TNb) in water samples, labs are able to detect the presence of decaying natural organic matter in bodies of water, as well as synthetic contaminants such as pesticides, agricultural fertilisers and industrial chemicals. Additionally, oxygen and hydrogen isotope analysis offers important insights into hydrogeological systems, including reservoir residence times, groundwater recharge rates, mixing models and river basin dynamics, to help researchers understand how pollutants interact with the natural environment and how to prevent this. Modern TOC analysers are
optimised to ensure that these essential testing
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