Manganese: A Not So Innocent Contaminant

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For years, manganese has been a nuisance contaminant common in groundwater that can cause discolored water or stain laundry. Fortunately, this nuisance could simply disappear by dosing a polyphosphate blend sequestering chemical to keep manganese in solution, making its aesthetic impact invisible to the eye. However, it is now recognized that chronic exposure to low manganese levels, as well as one-time exposure to very high manganese concentrations can pose a neurotoxic risk. Recent studies linked the exposure of elevated manganese concentrations to intellectual impairment and Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder among school-aged children.

The time to pay attention to this contaminant is now. Governments and States are beginning to adopt stricter manganese guidelines for both maximum contaminant levels (either Health-Based Values or Health Advisory Levels) and aesthetic objective values. In the United States, manganese was added to the EPA’s 4th Draft Contaminant Candidate List (CCL4) in 2016.

The impacts of manganese are more critical than simply water discoloration and taste issues, and the contaminant should be completely removed from groundwater rather than using sequestrating agents to simply manage the aesthetic issues caused by manganese without addressing its health concerns. AdEdge has a strong portfolio of innovative treatment technologies to remove manganese from groundwater and bring drinking water supplies into regulatory compliance.

This presentation will provide an overview of manganese research, existing and potential manganese regulation, highlight key design factors and considerations, performance data, go through several case studies from real-world field installations.

Topics that will be explored include:

What we should know about manganese as it relates to health
How to qualify well sites to select the best treatment solution
How to remove manganese without long aeration detention times or the use of potassium permanganate
How to reduce the treatment solution’s footprint to provide the most cost-effective solution for your site
How to manage backwash waste and sludge at sites without access to sewer using the AdEdge’s H2Zero backwash recycle system