Using a Field Tracer Study to Calibrate a Water Quality Model for Disinfection By-Product Formation Potential and Chlorine Decay

Several years ago, the Orlando Utilities Commission (OUC) performed a tracer test to help determine the age of water in its distribution system. The OUC wanted definitive data on water quality – specifically disinfectant by-product formation and chlorine decay – at precise points in the distribution system. The field tracer study, when calibrated with OUC’s laboratory modeling, allowed the utility to more accurately determine water age and quality throughout its system, including chlorine residual and disinfectant by-product concentration (specifically trihalomethanes and haloacetic acids). Though the test was conducted in 2003, the data are still in use by OUC, and have been confirmed with periodic water quality checks throughout the years. © 2023 New England Water Works Association. All rights reserved.