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18-Env-B5 Industrial & Hazardous Waste Management · December 2017

Question 8 of 28: Interferences with Potable Water Supply

Nivaar worked solution (AI-drafted; not reviewed by a licensed engineer)

Notes on this paper

Reference texts: Nemerow & Dasgupta, Industrial and Hazardous Waste Treatment, 2nd ed.; Metcalf & Eddy, Wastewater Engineering: Treatment and Resource Recovery, 5th ed.; Davis & Cornwell, Introduction to Environmental Engineering, 6th ed.; LaGrega, Buckingham & Evans, Hazardous Waste Management, 2nd ed.; CCME, Guidelines for the Management of Biomedical Waste in Canada (1992); Canadian Environmental Protection Act (CEPA), 1999; Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes (1989); Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC) regulations on radioactive waste; provincial hazardous waste regulations (e.g. BC's Environmental Management Act and Hazardous Waste Regulation).

Question 8: Interferences with Potable Water Supply (3 marks)

Question text not reproduced: the examination questions are © Engineers and Geoscientists BC. Open the official past paper (linked at the top of this page) to read the question, then follow the worked solution below.

  1. Taste, odour and colour (algae, decaying organics, industrial phenolics) — corrective action: activated-carbon adsorption (powdered or granular), oxidation (ozone, chlorine dioxide), or source control at the discharge.
  2. Hardness and scaling minerals (Ca/Mg from an upstream industrial or agricultural discharge) — corrective action: lime-soda softening or ion exchange at the water-treatment plant.
  3. Toxic/pathogenic contamination (heavy metals, pathogens, or an industrial spill reaching the intake) — corrective action: enhanced coagulation/filtration, disinfection upgrade, or relocating/protecting the intake, backed by source-water protection (watershed control, spill-response planning) to prevent recurrence.