Developing regional early warning systems forsource waters

摘要

Early warning systems (EWSs) are used by water utilities to detect sudden changes in source water quality and are intended to provide information necessary to implement appropriate responses such as closing intakes or changing treatment methods. Rivers with several intakes over some distance are good candidates for multiple monitoring stations and coordinated data management and communication systems. In the United States, experience with such regional EWSs has largely been limited to the Ohio River and Lower Mississippi River. That situation has changed, however, with the recent development (or impending development) of regional systems on several other US rivers, including the Upper Mississippi, Schuylkill, Delaware, Allegheny, Monongahela, and Susquehanna. This article discusses the characteristics and ongoing development of these systems and the lessons learned through that process. These lessons may be applied to establish new regional EWSs on other rivers in the United States and elsewhere.