AWWA WQTC55090

The leading cause of customers' dissatisfaction with tap water is chlorinous taste and odor. For an average consumer that is not aware of drinking water treatment and regulations, off-flavors induce doubt concerning tap water quality, safety and healthfulness. This is shown by an increased purchasing of tap water alternatives such as bottled water and point-of-use or point-of-entry (POU/POE) treatment devices. This paper addresses the public perception of chlorinous flavor in drinking water by describing a procedure used to objectively determine the general public's sensitivity to chlorinous disinfectants, while subjectively evaluating their perception of tap water via survey questionnaires. This project aims to characterize public perceptions of chlorinous flavor in drinking water and tap water quality, and how these impact customer choices with respect to tap water alternatives. This study addresses both the subjective and objective viewpoints by conducting several tasks including: sensory analysis of chlorine and chloramine using a forced-choice triangle taste test in seven different demographic and geographic locations of the U.S.; market surveys of the population in the seven target markets; and, extensive taste tests to assess the effect of various water quality parameters on the sensitivity to chlorinous flavors in two very different locations (U.S. and France). Includes 8 references, tables, figures.

Product Details

Edition:

Vol. - No.

Published:

01/01/2001

Number of Pages:

14

File Size:

1 file , 320 KB