One of the challenging aspects of this project will be demonstrating its successes and failures in terms of removal of excess nutrient and other pollutants from the water ways during the proof of concept phase.
The simplest way to achieve this will be through utilizing holding tanks at both the intake and outflow areas of the facility, and performing water quality measurements at each at regular intervals. In addition to that, we would want to closely monitor the water inflow and outflow of the system so that we can quantify the volume of water improved in addition to the quality improvement.
Typically water treatment facilities take very general readings, with a focus on potability of the water for human use. While this standard would be acceptable in later stages, in order to monitor clean up volume for EPA grants and the like as the program expands; in the early testing and proof of concept phases we would want to utilize full spectrum water testing. This is both to show the value of this system, and for purely scientific value. The Cernunnos Foundation will make all findings available to any university that wanted to participate in research based on our work.
Below is a comparison of typical water treatment facility testing vs a full spectrum test.
Water treatment
Full Spectrum
Microbiological Testing:
Effectiveness of disinfection processes (e.g., chlorination)
Monitoring for microbial contaminants post-treatment
Chemical Testing:
Residual disinfectants (e.g., chlorine residual)
pH adjustment effectiveness
Removal efficiency of specific contaminants targeted by treatment processes (e.g., heavy metals, organic compounds)
Coagulation and flocculation efficiency
Physical Testing:
Turbidity removal efficiency
Total suspended solids removal efficiency
Color and odor removal
Operational Parameters:
Flow rates
Pressure measurements
Monitoring of treatment process variables
Physical Parameters:
Temperature
Turbidity (clarity of water)
Color
Odor
Taste
Conductivity (electrical conductivity, which relates to the concentration of dissolved ions)
