Chlorinous off-flavours in drinking water are a leading cause of complaints to Australian water utilities and other utilities worldwide. The occurrence and causes of chlorinous odours in drinking water were investigated with the use of an odour panel, trained using a modified flavour profile analysis technique. A new system for classifying water types according to the causes of chlorinous odours was developed in order to enable improved management strategies for the reduction of these off-flavours. Waters of ‘Type 1’ exhibit a chlorinous odour only when the free chlorine equivalent concentration is equal to or above the odour threshold concentration (OTC) for free chlorine. Waters exhibiting a chlorinous odour both above and below the OTC of free chlorine are designated ‘Type 2’. ‘Type 3’ waters are those in which the possible presence of a chlorinous odour is masked by another odour. Although causative compounds of the chlorinous off-flavours were not determined, bromine was proposed to play an important role in distribution systems where source waters have high concentrations of bromide that may not be removed by the available treatment processes. Management strategies for improvements in aesthetic water quality for each water type are proposed.
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March 2013
This article was originally published in
Journal of Water Supply: Research and Technology-Aqua
Article Contents
Research Article|
March 01 2013
Drinking water: the problem of chlorinous odours Available to Purchase
S. McDonald;
1Curtin Water Quality Research Centre (CWQRC), Curtin University, GPO Box U1987, Perth, Western Australia 6845, Australia
E-mail: [email protected]
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C. A. Joll;
C. A. Joll
1Curtin Water Quality Research Centre (CWQRC), Curtin University, GPO Box U1987, Perth, Western Australia 6845, Australia
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A. Lethorn;
A. Lethorn
2Water Corporation of Western Australia, 629 Newcastle Street, Leederville, Western Australia 6007, Australia
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C. Loi;
C. Loi
1Curtin Water Quality Research Centre (CWQRC), Curtin University, GPO Box U1987, Perth, Western Australia 6845, Australia
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A. Heitz
A. Heitz
1Curtin Water Quality Research Centre (CWQRC), Curtin University, GPO Box U1987, Perth, Western Australia 6845, Australia
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Journal of Water Supply: Research and Technology-Aqua (2013) 62 (2): 86–96.
Article history
Received:
July 01 2012
Accepted:
January 10 2013
Citation
S. McDonald, C. A. Joll, A. Lethorn, C. Loi, A. Heitz; Drinking water: the problem of chlorinous odours. Journal of Water Supply: Research and Technology-Aqua 1 March 2013; 62 (2): 86–96. doi: https://doi.org/10.2166/aqua.2013.087
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