Surface Water Treatment Rules (SWTR)Advanced 22 min read

DC Water Treatment: Advanced Compliance at the Washington Aqueduct

A depth-scaled guide for DC's upper-grade Water Treatment operators covering advanced coagulation/filtration process control and the federal surface water rules (IESWTR, LT2ESWTR, Stage 1 D/DBP Rule) that govern the Washington Aqueduct.

This guide builds on the Beginner-level overview of DC's water system and goes into the process-control and regulatory depth expected of Grade 3 and Grade 4 operators. DC is unique: 100% of its drinking water comes from the Potomac River, treated at the Washington Aqueduct's Dalecarlia and McMillan plants (intakes at Great Falls and Little Falls), a facility owned and operated by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers -- while DOEE certifies the operators. Upper-grade operators are expected to understand not just that the plant does conventional treatment, but why each process step is tuned the way it is, and how it is regulated.

Advanced Coagulation & Flocculation Control

Jar testing remains the front-line tool for setting coagulant dose, but advanced operators must understand the underlying chemistry: coagulant (t

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