Mill River Monitoring Research
Program
This work began with the installation of a continuous pumped supply of Mill River water to the WET Center building in January 2017. The project goals are to: (1) to assist businesses in developing new water quality monitoring devices, (2) to provide a platform for 3rd party evaluation of innovative water quality monitoring technologies, (3) to study impacts of weather (e.g., precipitation, seasonal cycles and climate change) on water quality in the Mill River.
Monitoring Data:
- Flow
- Dissolved Organic Carbon
- UV-Visible Absorbance
- Oxygen Demand
- Precursor Content
- Other
Presentations based on this work:
- Dozier C, Reckhow DA, Wittbold P, Zhao R, Accelerated THM Precursor Analysis as a Tool for Near Real-Time Assessment of NOM and DBP Control, oral presentation at the AWWA Water Quality Technology Conference, Portland OR, November 13-16, 2017
- Reckhow DA, Sun Y, Wittbold P, Dozier C, "Characterization of NOM and DBP Precursors in Source Waters", invited presentation, Industrial Chair Conference, Dalhousie University, Halifax NS, December 14, 2017
- Reckhow DA, Dozier C, "Accurate estimation of DBP precursors using short-term and thermally accelerated protocols", ACS meeting, New Orleans, March 19-22, 2018
- Reckhow, DA, Moriarty G, Wittbold, P, Dozier, C., "Methods for Near Real-Time Analysis of DBP Precursors and Related NOM Properties” presentation at the Conference of Drinking Water Safety, Urban Drinking Water Quality Monitoring Center of Shandong Province, Jinan, China, Oct 24, 2018
- Reckhow DA, Moriarty G, Sun, Y., Wittbold, P, Dozier, C., “Methods for Near Real-time Analysis of DBP Precursors and Related NOM Properties,” oral presentation at the AWWA Water Quality Technology Conference, Toronto, Nov 14, 2018
Theses based on this work:
- Moriarty, Griffin, 2019, "Evaluation of Two Real Time Methods for Assessing THM Precursor Concentrations", UMass MS Thesis.
Research Sponsors:
Key Instruments
Perhaps the most unique feature of this facility is the extensive set of monitoring systems that are focused on natural aquatic organic matter. In addition to a continuous dissoved organic carbon (DOC) analyzer and a UV254 monitor, we have multi-spectral analyzers, an oxidant demand analyzer and a prototype THM Precursor analyzer. Grab samples are being collected for off-line laboratory analysis in support of these on-line devices. In addition, we have some more common on-line water quality analyzers for parameters such as pH, turbidity, particle counts, Nitrate and Phosphate.
For more on the continuous on-line instrumentation:
Below is a summary of the key instruments and their analysis time & frequency:
| Type | Manufacturer & Model | time/analysis | #/day |
|---|---|---|---|
| DOC | Sievers M5310 | 2 min | 715 |
| UV absorbance | RealTech UV254 | 8 sec | |
| Multi-spectral | RealTech (196/scan) | 5 min | 270 |
| THM Precursor | AMS THM-100-FP | 3.5 hr | 6 |
| COD | Mantech PeCOD at-line | 5 min | 60 |
| N & P | ThermoFisher Analyzers |
Off-line Testing and Instrumentation:
- Fluorescence EEMs: Horiba Aqualog
- Disinfection Byproduct Precursor Analysis
- Mass Spectrometry
Supporting Facilities:
Source Water:
Additional Background:
The Mill River Monitoring Projects are conducted at the MRM Facility which is co-located with the EWRE water and wastewater pilot plant, now calle the Water Energy Technology (WET) center. The field station that includes these facilities was originally developed with the help of research funding from the Massachusetts Division of Water Pollution Control (MDWPC). These grants were key to the early growth and success of the UMass Environmental Engineering Program (later EWRE). They supported a substantial expansion of the Master's program thereby helping to meet the growing regional and national need for environmental engineers.
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