Aesthetic Prowess

D rinking water is subject to a range of regulations meant to ensure it is safe, but if it tastes, smells, or looks bad, people won't want to drink it.With their severity and duration exacerbated by climate change, aesthetic water problems can develop anywhere in the system from source to tap.And while these events aren't typically associated with human health risks, that's not always a safe assumption.In some situations, poor aesthetics can indicate that a water supply is not being managed well or is at risk of more serious contamination.Water professionals need to appreciate and quickly resolve the "everyday" quality problems of water that is safe but too unappetizing to drink.Many organizations and regulatory bodies have historically required that drinking water be free of aesthetic problems so that consumers don't seek out less safe alternatives, while the US Environmental Protection Agency has provided secondary maximum contaminant levels for aesthetic quality since the 1970s.Billions of dollars are spent each year to mitigate aesthetic issues, and AWWA's longtime efforts have evolved through its Aesthetic Quality and Perception Committee (AQPC), a group of topical experts who provide guidance through articles, manuals, conference presentations, and other forms of industry support.This month's cover story describes how a water safety planning approach can complement regulatory frameworks or be used as a standard to better manage aesthetic water quality.Some problems such as odor, color, iron, aluminum, copper, manganese, and zinc cannot be fully managed at a single point of control, requiring decentralized or distributed control points.In these cases, a multiple-barrier concept better describes how these parameters are managed, and by using a water safety plan, utilities can tailor their monitoring and responses to customer aesthetic complaints.Aesthetic issues provide a wider lesson in utility communication and demonstrate how staying in front of potential problems can build trust instead of waiting for complaints, when questions and doubt are already in place.As the AQPC recently wrote in Journal AWWA, ". . .customers are on the front lines of emergent water issues and can indicate aesthetic quality changes for water suppliers; managing aesthetic quality in a proactive manner not only can save a water supplier money but also build public confidence."Water systems need to understand their specific aesthetic challenges so they can proactively manage them and maintain confidence that the drinking water is safe.Journal AWWA is a great resource to stay current on these kinds of challenges, so please consider sharing your water industry experiences by contacting me at journaleditor@awwa.org.