Data visualization allows users outside the laboratory to monitor field collection sites quickly and easily within LIMS. |
By Jeanne Mensingh and Colin Thurston
Wastewater treatment, like other industries that rely heavily on dynamic sampling programs, has had to implement far more rigorous testing in recent years, and the challenges facing treatment facilities haven't necessarily come from stricter regulations or standards but from a fundamental change in the wastewater stream itself.
The wastewater stream is more contaminated than ever, with more diverse and exotic compounds (e.g., overprescribed pharmaceuticals) that ultimately place a heavier burden on treatment facilities to ensure their output is safe. As such, providers must dramatically increase their sample load and the overall number and complexity of tests simply to remain in compliance with preexisting regulations.
How can these already overtaxed sampling programs increase throughput without financially straining the communities or organizations they serve? Further, how can they maintain public health in the face of unprecedented wastewater contamination? One answer is data management and using laboratory information management systems (LIMS) to do more with less. Automating tests and eliminating manual procedures through LIMS allows wastewater treatment systems to shoulder increased testing loads while actually improving efficiency and testing efficacy.
Altering the Waste Stream
We know that new contaminants are taxing the wastewater stream, but why are they such a problem? To answer that question, we first need to explore what happens to wastewater. While there are many final destinations for treated wastewater, it has a consistent (and obvious) source, and sampling begins early.
Water treatment providers dispatch technicians to upstream sample wells across their regions to test wastewater before it reaches a treatment facility. In the past, test results were handwritten on paper, and the data slowly made its way into a hard copy report. With LIMS, however, technicians use mobile devices to record bar codes, readings and coordinates, allowing real-time (and more accurate) sample reporting and aggregation. Downstream plants can use this data to prepare for treatment ahead of time, expediting the process.
The wastewater treatment process, from primary and secondary treatment to disinfection, is complex and involves multiple steps. Rigorous testing is performed to ensure that any water exiting a treatment facility - for any eventual use - is safe. Technicians use spectrometry, chromatography and wet chemistry to analyze wastewater for harmful contaminants such as heavy metals and antibiotics.
Antibiotics, which are shown to be overprescribed by recent reports from the Centers for Disease Control, among others, enter the wastewater stream through human waste and improper disposal of leftover pharmaceuticals into drains and toilets. Over time, this practice can lead to the emergence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria that could ultimately impact humans as the treated effluent travels beyond the facility.
Testing for and eliminating antibiotics and drug-resistant bacteria is an increasingly important function of water treatment facilities. Knowing the precise levels of bacteria in water undergoing treatment is essential to determining how much chlorine to add. Similarly, wastewater contaminated with heavy metals such as lead must undergo special treatment as an extra precaution.
Accordingly, the complex process of determining which treatment options to use is greatly simplified using LIMS. Because the platform integrates with the instruments used to track contaminant levels as wastewater is treated, LIMS can help technicians identify trends that improve treatment performance and efficiency. This data is also critical for regulatory compliance, auditing and reporting purposes, and it ultimately plays an important role in determining where treated wastewater is put to use.