Drinking Water Treatment, Principles and Practices

By the end of this course, you will be able to:

• Characterize water and identify sources of water
• Recognize the types of water contaminants and identify the treatment processes and methods for their removal
• Remove suspended solids and colloids, dissolved and particulate organic matter, metals and contaminating inorganic substances from water by conventional and advanced treatment processes
• Recognize the operation principles of conventional and advanced drinking water treatment systems
• Apply your knowledge to select and design appropriate treatment processes for the production of high-quality drinking water

Description

Producing safe, reliable drinking water requires engineers to integrate water quality analysis, process selection, and sound design under regulatory, operational, and environmental constraints. Decisions made at each stage of treatment, from source water assessment to disinfection, directly influence public health, system performance, and long‑term infrastructure reliability.

This course provides a structured, practice‑oriented overview of both conventional and advanced drinking‑water treatment technologies. You will develop a practical understanding of how physical, chemical, and biological processes are applied to remove contaminants, control water chemistry, and ensure microbial safety. Emphasis is placed on connecting fundamental principles to real‑world design and operational considerations.

Through applied examples and design-focused discussions, the course equips you with the tools to evaluate, design, and optimize drinking-water treatment processes, including treatment plants that incorporate advanced technologies such as membrane systems, ion exchange, ozonation, and desalination.

Who This Course Is For

This course is designed for:

• Civil, environmental, and chemical engineers involved in water and wastewater infrastructure
• Engineering technologists and technical professionals working in drinking‑water treatment and distribution
• Municipal, consulting, and industrial practitioners responsible for water‑quality decision‑making
• Early‑career through senior professionals seeking a practical, systems‑level understanding of drinking‑water treatment processes

Day 1

Water Resources, Hydrology and Characteristics

• Sources and hydrological aspects of water
•  Physical, chemical and microbiological parameters of water
• Water pollutants: dissolved, non-dissolved, organic and inorganic contaminants
• Fundamental chemical concepts

Drinking Water Treatment: Conventional Treatment Technologies

Coagulation-Flocculation Processes

• Characteristics of colloids and suspended particles
• Theoretical aspects of coagulation and flocculation processes
• Type of coagulants and flocculants used in industrial operations
• Mechanisms of colloids and suspended solids removal during coagulation and flocculation processes
• Design of coagulation-flocculation reactors: calculation of mixing power input and reactor dimensions

Sedimentation and Clarification Processes

• Principles of particle settling and solid-liquid separation
• Design and operation aspects of sedimentation/clarification processes
• Operational parameters of sedimentation/clarification tanks

Filtration

• Types of filters: screen filters, surface filters, depth filters
• Particle removal mechanisms during filtration processes
• Important factors for filter media
• Filter backwashing

Chemical Precipitation

• Removal of metals from a solution by chemical precipitation
• Hydroxide precipitation of metals
• Carbonate precipitation of metals
• Sulfide precipitation of metals
• Removal of phosphorus from water by chemical precipitation

Water Softening

• Environmental impacts of water hardness
• Concept of chemical equivalence
• Water softening by chemical precipitation: Lime-soda process
• Water softening operations and design examples of lime-soda water softening process
• Estimation of chemical consumption and solids production during softening processes

Day 2

Drinking Water Treatment:  Advanced Treatment Technologies

Ion Exchange

• Mechanism of ion exchange and applications of ion exchange processes in water treatment
• Ion exchange resins and principles of ion exchange in resins
• Ion exchange resin selectivity and affinity
• Water demineralization by ion exchange
• Resin regeneration after water demineralization
• Water softening by ion exchange
• Design of Ion exchange processes

Adsorption

• Adsorption separation processes
• Types of contaminants removed by adsorption
• Granular activated carbon (GAC) and powdered activated carbon (PAC)
• Types of adsorption columns

Membrane Processes

• Operation principles of membrane systems
• Types of membranes used in water treatment operations: Microfiltration, ultrafiltration, nanofiltration, reverse osmosis
• Components and configuration of membrane systems
• Operating parameters in membrane systems
• Design of membrane filtration systems

Disinfection Processes

• Mechanisms of disinfection processes
• Properties of industrial disinfectants: advantages and limitations
• Design of disinfection systems
• Mechanisms of microbial elimination during disinfection processes
• Chlorination
• Ozonation
• UV disinfection

Drinking Water Treatment Plants

• Examples of conventional and modern drinking water treatment plants
• Applications of advanced treatment processes, including advanced oxidation processes (AOPs), membrane processes, ozonation, ion exchange
• Seawater desalination for the production of potable water
• Water reuse systems: generation of potable water from wastewater

Concluding Remarks

Discussion Period: Questions and Answers