The eLearning Center for Gatlin Education Services

Overview

Disinfection is used to kill or inactivate disease-causing organisms in a potable water supply. The EPA Surface Water Treatment Rule (SWTR) requires systems using public water supplies from either surface water or groundwater under the direct influence of surface water to disinfect the water.

There are a number of different disinfection options available to the design engineer. The oldest and most widely used method of disinfection is the use of chlorine. Chlorine is very effective as a disinfectant, but can produce undesirable disinfection by-products. Newer disinfection technologies, such as ozone and UV disinfection, produce little or no disinfection by-products. However, these technologies have a disadvantage relative to chlorine in that they provide no residual disinfection in the water distribution system after initial treatment. Thus, recontamination is a concern unless chlorine is used as a secondary disinfectant to provide residual protection.

In this course the student will review the technical briefs Disinfection, Ozone, and Ultraviolet Disinfection published by the National Drinking Water Clearinghouse. This course is particularly relevant to engineers involved in the design and selection of water treating and/or distribution systems, as well as engineers who are simply interested in learning more about disinfection of potable water systems.

The student must take a multiple-choice quiz consisting of fifteen questions at the end of this course to obtain PDH credits.

Specific Knowledge or Skill Attained

This course teaches the following specific knowledge and skills:

  · Why disinfection of potable water is necessary
  · The regulatory requirements for disinfection of potable water
  · The different forms of chlorine available and their relative advantages and disadvantages for use as a potable water disinfectant
  · The advantages and limitations of using ozone as a disinfectant and the methods for producing ozone on-site
  · The advantages and limitations of using UV disinfection, as well as the major components of a UV unit

State Board Acceptance

This course can be used by professional engineers to fulfill PDH requirements mandated by state and provincial licensing boards. Decatur Professional Development is an approved provider of continuing education in all states that pre-approve course providers. In all other states that mandate continuing education for engineers, it is the individual engineer's responsibility to determine the suitability of activities for PDH credit. The state boards typically accept online* courses that cover technical, managerial** or ethical content and which are relevant to the practice of engineering. The course must have a clear purpose or objective with a content that will maintain, improve or expand the skills and knowledge of the licensee's field of practice. For questions about your mandatory PDH requirements, visit the website of your state licensing board.

*Online courses are accepted by all state licensing boards that mandate continuing education. Other than New York (which limits online courses to 18 PDH) and Iowa (which limits online courses to 6 PDH), there are no limits placed by other states on the number of hours that can be earned through online continuing education. Consult with your state licensing board if you have any questions about the acceptability of online courses.

**The New York State Board of Engineers does not accept general office management courses, but will accept project management courses that are offered by an approved provider and that are technical in nature and contribute to the engineer's professional practice.