Modeling fate and transport of arsenic in a chlorinated distribution system

Experimental and modeling studies were conducted to understand the fate and transport properties of arsenic in drinking water distribution systems. Pilot scale experiments were performed in a distribution system simulator by injecting arsenic and measuring both adsorption onto iron pipe material and the oxidation of arsenite by hypochlorite in tap water to form arsenate. A mathematical model describing these processes was developed and simulated using EPANET-MSX, a hydraulic and multi-species water quality software for pipe networks. Model parameters were derived from the pilot-scale experiments. The model was applied to both the distribution system simulator and EPANET example network #3, a real-world model of a drinking water system serving approximately 78,000 customers. The model can be applied to systems-level studies of arsenic fate and transport in drinking water resulting from natural occurrences, accidental spills, or intentional introduction into water.