The Water Quality Research Foundation is sponsoring a project to develop a database of case studies of public water systems that use Point of Use (POU) and Point of Entry (POE) water treatment for Safe Drinking Water Act compliance. A team of researchers from the University of Arizona and Georgia Southern University will review POU/POE use for compliance nationwide, determine its challenges and benefits and share the lessons learned.

Federal regulations allow public water systems to use POU/POE treatment systems to comply with federal drinking water standards, but states are charged with developing rules on how to buy, use and monitor the systems, and these rules vary widely. For example, some states allow any sized public system to use POU/POE systems, while other states limit use to very small systems.

“We know many communities where POU/POE has been successful, and this research will help others learn from these success stories,” said Shannon Murphy of Aquamor, chair of the research task force. “As well, this research will also help us better understand the hurdles and challenges so we can work to address these together as an industry.”

Work on the approximately year-long project will begin in October.  Researchers will interview at least one key person from each state’s primacy agency by telephone or video conference. In the states that allow POU/POE use,  public water system managers will also be interviewed about their experiences using this strategy for compliance.