In this lecture, senior reseacher on drinking water distribution Jan Vreeburg gives an overview of his PhD research on water quality in distribution systems. He focusses on the cause of discouloration, also known as “brown water”.
The classical opinon that cast iron pipes are the source of the brown iron deposits was shown as unlikely in Dutch drinking water networks with hardly any cast iron pipes. He proves that the iron particles from the water treatment plants are the main cause. These particles accumulate in the distribution pipes, and can be resuspended by sudden flow increase. Flow increases are also used for cleaning of the network (“flushing”). Brown water problems can be prevented by better treatment processes, higher distribution velocities (smaller pipes), and regular flushing.