Chlorination By‐products in Drinking Waters: From Formation Potentials to Finished Water Concentrations

The objective of the research described in this article was to partially bridge the gap between formation potentials in model systems, e.g., humic substances, and by‐product concentrations likely to be encountered in finished waters. The chlorination by‐products chosen for study were trihalomethanes, total organic halide, trichloroacetic acid, dichloroacetic acid, trichloroacetone, and dichloroacetonitrile. By‐product formation from colored raw waters was found to be similar to that observed for aquatic humic and fulvic acids. Alum coagulation of a moderately colored surface water resulted in the removal of 50–90 percent of all by‐product precursors tested.