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An Overview Of Dissolved Organic Carbon In Groundwater And Implications For Drinking Water Safety, S. Regan, Paul Hynds, R. Flynn

Articles

Dissolved organic carbon (DOC) is composed of a diverse array of compounds, predominantly humic substances, and is a near ubiquitous component of natural groundwater, notwithstanding climatic extremes such as arid and hyper-arid settings. Despite being a frequently measured parameter of groundwater quality, the complexity of DOC composition and reaction behaviour means that links between concentration and human health risk are difficult to quantify and few examples are reported in the literature. Measured concentrations from natural/unpolluted groundwater are typically below 4 mg C/l, whilst concentrations above these levels generally indicate anthropogenic influences and/or contamination issues and can potentially compromise water safety. …