Drinking Water Engineering and Science www.drink-water-eng-sci.net 1996-9457 1996-9465 3 1 2010 10.5194/dwes-3-53-2010 http://www.drink-water-eng-sci.net/3/53/2010/ http://www.drink-water-eng-sci.net/3/53/2010/dwes-3-53-2010.html http://www.drink-water-eng-sci.net/3/53/2010/dwes-3-53-2010.pdf 53 61 2010-04-15 NOM characterization and removal at six Southern African water treatment plants J. Haarhoff M. Kubare mkubare@gmail.com B. Mamba R. Krause T. Nkambule B. Matsebula J. Menge Department of Civil Engineering Science, University of Johannesburg, P.O. Box 524, Auckland Park 2006, South Africa Department of Chemical Technology, University of Johannesburg, P.O. Box 524, Auckland Park 2006, South Africa City of Windhoek, P.O. Box 59, Windhoek, Namibia Organic pollution is a major concern during drinking water treatment. Major challenges attributed to organic pollution include the proliferation of pathogenic micro-organisms, prevalence of toxic and physiologically disruptive organic micro-pollutants, and quality deterioration in water distribution systems. A major component of organic pollution is natural organic matter (NOM). The operational mechanisms of most unit processes are well understood. However, their interaction with NOM is still the subject of scientific research. This paper takes the form of a meta-study to capture some of the experiences with NOM monitoring and analysis at a number of Southern African Water Treatment Plants. It is written from the perspective of practical process selection, to try and coax some pointers from the available data for the design of more detailed pilot work. NOM was tracked at six water treatment plants using dissolved organic carbon (DOC) measurements. 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