Congratulations to former Chair student, and research associate, Patrick King for receiving first place in AWWA’s (American Water Works Association) Academic Achievement Awards competition for Masters theses! This award encourages academic excellence by recognizing contributions to the field of public water supply.
From Sept. 2017 until May. 2020 Patrick worked on his MASc at the NSERC Industrial Research Chair in Water Treatment at the University of Waterloo under the supervision of Dr. Sigrid Peldszus, and Dr. Peter Huck. His research focused on “Investigating the Role of Water Quality on the Galvanic Corrosion of Lead in Hard Drinking Water with a Focus on NOM”.
The main objective of Patrick’s research was to look into the impact of water quality factors, such as hardness and natural organic matter (NOM), on lead release. His research was conducted in two phases. The first phase (Phase I) involved assessing the impact of pH, dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC), hardness, and NOM on the galvanic corrosion of lead using a variety of synthetic waters. The second phase (Phase II) assessed if NOM in real drinking water would have a similar impact as Suwannee River NOM in synthetic water.
In all, the real NOM did increase the release of dissolved lead, but not nearly to the same extent as Suwannee River NOM. The results of his research can help to inform treatment decisions and their potential impact on corrosion. Thus, the findings will be highly valuable to drinking water regulators, utilities, and researchers. If you would like more information on Patrick’s thesis, please contact him at pwking@uwaterloo.ca
After completing his studies, Patrick joined the UW NSERC Chair in Water Treatment as a research associate. In spring 2021, he will join Jacobs Engineering Group in Winnipeg, as a Junior Water/Wastewater EIT.
