The following is a transcript of the WaterWorld Weekly Newscast for November 26, 2018.
Hi, I'm Angela Godwin for WaterWorld magazine, bringing you water and wastewater news headlines for the week of November 26. Coming up...
Scientists develop oil-repelling membrane coating
Taps run green in Cobb County
EPA seeks input on PFAS assessments
Xylem to help Ethiopia advance water sector
Scientists at Argonne National Laboratory have developed an approach to oil-water separation that could prolong the lifetime of key membrane filtration equipment.
It's a very thin oxide coating -- just a few nanometers thick -- that attracts water but repels oil.
When applied to membranes via atomic layer deposition, the coating prevents membranes from being fouled by sticky oil.
The scientists believe the invention could benefit oil and gas operators by eliminating costly filter replacement and the downtime associated with it.
Some residents in Cobb County, Georgia, discovered green-tinted water flowing out of their taps last week, but water agency officials reassured the public that the water was safe.
The discoloration resulted from large rain event that increased manganese levels in the Chattahoochee River, one of the community's sources of drinking water.
The treatment plant saw its manganese levels triple over a period of about seven hours.
The Cobb County-Marietta Water Authority made some treatment changes and has been monitoring the manganese levels hourly to ensure safety.
The U.S. EPA is seeking public input on draft toxicity assessments for GenX chemicals and perfluorobutane sulfonic acid, members of a larger group of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances -- or PFAS.
The draft assessments are part of EPA’s PFAS Management Plan and the agency's efforts to increase the amount of research and information that is publicly available on chemicals in the PFAS family.
When complete, the EPA's PFAS Management Plan will outline the agency’s approach to addressing the PFAS challenge.
To learn more, visit: epa.gov/pfas.
In international news, under a new Memorandum of Understanding, global water technology provider Xylem will help Ethiopia improve its water supply and sanitation service delivery.
Xylem President and CEO Patrick Decker said the company is honored to have the opportunity to begin exploring solutions for the region, particularly non-revenue water, knowledge sharing, and creating more water and energy efficiencies to maximize resources and lessen impact on the environment.
"This exploratory partnership is a chance to strengthen our working relationship with the Ministry," he said, "and … to create a foundation that can help advance Ethiopia's water sector in the future."
For WaterWorld magazine, I'm Angela Godwin. Thanks for watching.
