International Journal of Environmental Science and Development

Abstract—Research into the elucidation of Natural Organic Matter (NOM) character in surface waters and the link to NOM removal is concentrated to Europe and North America, with limited research conducted on the vastly differing climatic and ecological conditions of Australia. This study utilizes dissolved organic carbon, rapid resin fractionation, liquid chromatography with organic carbon detection and zeta potential measurement techniques to characterize NOM from a riverine, transitional and lacustrine site of an Australian drinking water catchment. The results are compared to similar American, Canadian and French drinking water sources. The robustness of the characterization techniques as an indicator for NOM treatability can be established through application to surface waters of differing geographical regions. Future studies should aim to concurrently characterize NOM character and treatability across a multitude of surface waters in varying geographical locations.

Index Terms—Natural organic matter, characterization, surface water, water treatment.

A. Agostino and S. Moradi are with the Microbial Advanced Separation Systems Laboratory (bioMASS Lab) and the UNESCO Centre for Membrane Science and Technology, School of Chemical Engineering, UNSW, Sydney, NSW, 2052, Australia (e-mail: anthony.agostino@student.unsw.edu.au, s.moradi@unsw.edu.au).
H. Bustamante is with Sydney Water Corporation, Parramatta, Sydney, NSW, 2150, Australia.
L. Hamilton is with WaterNSW, Parramatta, Sydney, NSW, 2150, Australia.
G. Leslie is with the UNESCO Centre for Membrane Science and Technology, School of Chemical Engineering, UNSW, Sydney, NSW, 2052, Australia (corresponding author: G. Leslie; e-mail: g.leslie@unsw.edu.au).

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Cite: A. Agostino, S. Moradi, H. Bustamante, L. Hamilton, and G. Leslie, "Tracking Changes in Natural Organic Matter Character in an Australian Drinking Water Catchment," International Journal of Environmental Science and Development vol. 9, no. 9, pp. 278-281, 2018.