AWWA ACE59929

Acute toxicity screening methods may be effective tools, when properly applied, to ensure the security of drinking water treatment, storage and distribution systems. While these systems are experiencing wide-spread use by utilities in the United States, limited information has been published in the open literature (States et. al., 2003 and 2004) regarding the sensitivity of these methods to acutely toxic substances in a water sample and the practical detection limits for these systems in water treatment and distribution systems. In addition to the acute toxicity screening methods discussed above, there is also a need for field concentration methods to facilitate rapid detection of specific pathogens during drinking water security incidents. These methods also could be used by a variety of first responders. The United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) is currently developing and testing a field concentration method based on ultrafiltration. This USEPA method will allow concentration of large volumes of water in the field. In the interim, Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority (PWSA) and the University of Pittsburgh have developed a simple reliable method for field concentration of smaller volumes of environmental samples in water treatment and distribution systems. This field concentration method can be used to improve the sensitivity of rapid Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) methods as well as other assays. Includes 5 references, tables, figures.