Assessment and management of risk associated with bromate formation in drinking water

The objective of this work is the development of a global methodology for the evaluation and management of the risk of bromate formation associated with the ozonation of drinking water in order to anticipate the upcoming regulation in 2008 regarding the bromate content in water of 10 μg/l. An aid decision tool was developed for the calculation of the risk of bromate formation using water quality data and plant operational conditions which helped to develop operational recommendation guide for ozonation process on the basis of different treatment scenario simulations. The model was adapted, tested and validated on six full scale plants located near Paris area, and can be easily used by the operators in their everyday work. The tool has shown to be efficient in prediction of the bromate risk in treated water for different water qualities and operating conditions and allowed to establish the levels of risk (low, medium and high). It can be used successfully as support to establish guidelines for risk management focusing on optimization of disinfection and oxidation processes involving ozone.