A sampling programme has been undertaken to investigate the nature and fate of natural organic matter (NOM) through a water treatment works (WTW). Specific focus has been given to the effect seasonal changes have on NOM. Water samples were collected from the reservoir inlet and after the filters at Albert WTW in Yorkshire. Samples were taken in January, June and November 2000. Changes in the dissolved organic carbon (DOC), ultra-violet (UV) absorbance at 254 nm, specific UV absorbance (SUVA) and trihalomethane formation potential (THM-FP) were measured for both the filtered and raw water. The waters were fractionated by XAD resin adsorption techniques into hydrophobic acid (HPO-A) and hydrophilic acid (HPI-A) fractions. The fractions were analysed for DOC, UV, SUVA and THM-FP. The reactivity of the fractions changed throughout the year with the lowest reactivity (THM-FP) in January, increasing in June and reaching a maximum in November. This corresponded to the water being more difficult to treat in November and an increase in the proportion of hydrophobic acid. Information was obtained through the fractionation that would be impossible to predict from only the bulk water parameters.

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