Modelling of THM formation potential and DOM removal based on drinking water catchment characteristics John Awad a,c, ⁎, Claire A. Fisk b , Jim W. Cox b,e , Sharolyn J. Anderson a , John van Leeuwen a,d a School of Natural and Built Environments, University of South Australia, South Australia, 5095, Australia b School of Biological Sciences, The University of Adelaide, North Terrace, South Australia, 5005, Australia c Public Works Department, Faculty of Engineering, Mansoura University, Egypt d Future Industries Institute, ITEE, University of South Australia, South Australia, 5095, Australia e South Australian Research and Development Institute, Urrbrae 5064, South Australia, Australia HIGHLIGHTS • Vegetation cover extracted from satel- lite imagery using spectral mixture analysis. • Models of DOM in runoff waters, based on catchment characteristics were de- veloped. • Models of treatability of DOM and THMFP, based on catchment parameters were developed. • Catchment management decision sup- port tool to estimate water quality was developed. GRAPHICAL ABSTRACT abstract article info Article history: Received 5 December 2017 Received in revised form 17 March 2018 Accepted 10 April 2018 Available online xxxx Editor: Paola Verlicchi Catchment properties influence the character and concentration of dissolved organic matter (DOM). Surface and subsurface runoff from discrete catchments were collected and DOM was measured and assessed in terms of its treatability by Enhanced Coagulation and potential for disinfection by-product (trihalomethane, THMFP) forma- tion potential. Models were developed of [1] DOM character [i.e. SUVA and SpCoL] and concentration (measured as dissolved organic carbon), [2] treatability of DOM by coagulation/flocculation processes and [3] specific THMFP based on the catchment features including: (a) surface and sub-surface soil texture (% clay: 5–25%), (b) topography (% slope: 5–15%) and (c) vegetation cover [i.e. high photosynthetic vegetation, low photosyn- thetic vegetation and bare soil] extracted from RapidEye satellite imagery using spectral mixture analysis. From these models, a catchment management decision support tool was designed for application by catchment managers to support decision-making of land-use and expected water quality related to water resources for drinking water supply. Software and data availability: Data sets used for models developing presented in this paper have been published in Research Data Australia (RDA) under the title of “Impacts of catchment properties on DOM and nutrients in waters from drinking water catchments”. 1 These data sets are available in open access and published in June 2017. Keywords: Coagulation Catchment runoff DOM character Vegetation cover THM Spectral mixture analysis Science of the Total Environment 635 (2018) 761–768 Abbreviations: BS, bare soil; CHCl 3 , chloroform formation potential; DBPs, disinfection by products; DOC, dissolved organic carbon; DOM, dissolved organic matter; G, grass; HPV, high photosynthetic vegetation; LPV, low photosynthetic vegetation; NV, native vegetation; NDVI, normalized difference vegetation index; P, pine; S, sandy soil; SC, sandy clay soil; SCL, sandy clay loam soil; SL, sandy loam soil; SpTHMFP, specific trihalomethane formation potential; SpCHCl 3 , specific chloroform formation potential; SMA, spectral mixture analysis; SpCoL, specific colour; SE, standard deviation; THMFP, trihalomethane formation potential; ZOC, zero order catchment. ⁎ Corresponding author at: Natural and Built Environments Research Centre, University of South Australia, H3-08 Mawson Lakes Campus, Adelaide 5095, SA, Australia. E-mail address: John.Awad@mymail.unisa.edu.au (J. Awad). 1 Link: https://researchdata.ands.org.au/impacts-catchment-properties-water-catchments/932912?source=undefined. These datasets are provided by the University of South Australia (UniSA). All data in these datasets were collected as part of the Australian Research Council project, ARC Linkage-LP110200208. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.04.149 0048-9697/Crown Copyright © 2018 Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Science of the Total Environment journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/scitotenv