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Document ID ca-gcdwqgtd-2015-12-17-8 Title Guidelines for Canadian Drinking Water Quality: Guideline Technical Document – Tetrachloroethylene URL https://www.canada.ca/en/health-canada/services/publications/healthy-living/guidelines-canadian-drinking-water-quality-guideline-technical-document-tetrachloroethylene/guidelines-canadian-drinking-water-quality-guideline-technical-document-tetrachloroethylene-page-8.html Jurisdiction /ca Subdomain(s) drinking_water, water_treatment Language en Status completed Analyzed at 2026-03-18 16:47:49.916493+00:00 Relevance Technical guidance on treatment technologies for tetrachloroethylene removal.

21 Qualitative 7 Quantitative 32 Definitions

Q Qualitative Requirements (21)

Req ID	Category	Intent	Legal Status	Name	Subdomain(s)	Context	Conditions	Confidence
#Q001	treatment	operational	guidance	Pretreatment for GAC Contactors	drinking water	To prevent clogging of the bed, pretreatment of the water prior to the GAC contactor is often required (Snoeyink, 1990; Speth, 1990; Crittenden et al., 2005).	When using granular activated carbon (GAC) adsorption contactors.	high
#Q002	treatment	treatment	guidance	PTA Off-gas Treatment	drinking water	As the PTA transfers VOCs from water to air, treatment of the stripping tower off-gas to decrease the contaminant concentrations prior to discharge into the atmosphere may be necessary (Crittenden et al., 1988; Adams and Clark, 1991).	When using packed tower aeration (PTA).	high
#Q003	treatment	operational	guidance	PTA Post-treatment Corrosion Inhibition	drinking water	Post treatment, such as the use of a corrosion inhibitor, may also be required to reduce corrosive properties of the water due to increased dissolved oxygen from the aeration process.	Following the use of packed tower aeration (PTA).	high
#Q004	operational	operational	recommended	AOP Operational Issues Consideration	drinking water	Specific operational issues should be considered when using each of the above-described AOP technologies.	When using advanced oxidation processes (AOPs).	high
#Q005	operational	health	recommended	AOP By-products Consideration	drinking water	The formation of by-products from the oxidation and/or advanced oxidation of tetrachloroethylene or other inorganic or organic compounds in the source water should be considered when using these processes.	When using oxidation and/or advanced oxidation processes.	high
#Q006	treatment	treatment	guidance	Additional Treatment for AOP By-products	drinking water	The presence of by-products may require additional treatment following AOPs and/or process optimization to minimize by-product formation.	Following the use of advanced oxidation processes (AOPs) that result in by-product formation.	high
#Q007	operational	health	recommended	Fenton Oxidation By-products Consideration	drinking water	The formation of by-products such as TCA should be considered when using AOPs such as Fenton oxidation (Yoshida et al., 2000).	When using AOPs such as Fenton oxidation.	high
#Q008	prohibition	unknown	recommended	Prohibition of Additional Treatment for Municipally Treated Water	drinking water	Generally, it is not recommended that drinking water treatment devices be used to provide additional treatment to municipally treated water.	When utilizing municipally treated water.	high
#Q009	monitoring	operational	recommended	Residential Treatment Device Testing	drinking water	Periodic testing by an accredited laboratory should be conducted on both the water entering the treatment device and the water it produces to verify that the treatment device is effective.	When using residential drinking water treatment devices.	high
#Q010	operational	operational	mandatory	Residential Treatment Device Maintenance	drinking water	Devices can lose their removal capacity through usage and time and need to be maintained and/or replaced.	When using residential drinking water treatment devices.	high
#Q011	administrative	operational	recommended	Component Longevity Verification	drinking water	Consumers should verify the expected longevity of the components in their treatment device as per the manufacturer's recommendations.	When using residential drinking water treatment devices.	high
#Q012	design	health	recommended	Use of Certified Treatment Devices	drinking water	Health Canada does not recommend specific brands of drinking water treatment devices, but it strongly recommends that consumers use devices that have been certified by an accredited certification body as meeting the appropriate NSF International (NSF)/American National Standards Institute (ANSI) drinking water treatment unit standards.	When consumers select drinking water treatment devices.	high
#Q013	administrative	unknown	mandatory	Certification Body Accreditation	drinking water	Certification organizations provide assurance that a product conforms to applicable standards and must be accredited by the Standards Council of Canada (SCC).	For organizations certifying drinking water devices and materials in Canada.	high
#Q014	design	operational	recommended	Reverse Osmosis System Installation	drinking water	Reverse osmosis systems should only be installed at the point of use as the water they have treated may be corrosive to internal plumbing components.	When installing residential reverse osmosis systems.	high
#Q015	operational	operational	mandatory	GAC Operational Maintenance	drinking water	Operating considerations include the needs to ensure a proper backwash, maintain the bed depth and bed density after backwashing and control the flow rate.	When using GAC adsorption contactors.	high
#Q016	operational	operational	mandatory	UV System Operational Management	drinking water	The common operating issues related to the use of UV radiation are UV lamp replacement, regular removal of the suspended particles that coat the quartz tubes housing the UV lamps and ensuring low levels of colour and turbidity of the water.	When using UV radiation as part of an AOP.	high
#Q017	design	treatment	guidance	Custom POE System Design	drinking water	Where certified point-of-entry treatment devices are not available for purchase, systems can be designed and constructed from certified materials.	When certified point-of-entry (POE) systems are unavailable for purchase.	high
#Q018	treatment	operational	guidance	PTA Fouling Prevention Methods	drinking water	Methods to prevent the fouling of the column include pH suppression of the influent, use of scale inhibitors or iron removal prior to the PTA application (U.S. EPA, 1984; Dyksen, 2005).	When using packed tower aeration (PTA) systems.	high
#Q019	operational	operational	guidance	Multi-bed GAC Operation	drinking water	In systems with multiple beds, the individual beds can be operated beyond the time of initial breakthrough, provided the contaminant concentration in the blended effluents still meets the treatment objectives.	In GAC systems utilizing multiple beds.	high
#Q020	operational	treatment	mandatory	GAC Exhausted Media Replacement	drinking water	Once the GAC is exhausted, it is removed from the contactor and replaced with fresh or regenerated GAC.	When the granular activated carbon media is exhausted or treatment objectives can no longer be met through blending.	high
#Q021	operational	treatment	mandatory	PAC Contact Time Requirement	drinking water	Sufficient contact time, a function of the characteristics and the concentration of the contaminant to be adsorbed, is necessary (Najm et al., 1991).	When applying powdered activated carbon (PAC) for VOC removal.	high

P Quantitative Requirements (7)

Req ID	Category	Intent	Legal Status	Name	Subdomain(s)	Limit Type	Limit Value	Context	Conditions	Confidence
#P001	chemical	health	guideline	trichloroacetic acid (TCA)	drinking water	unknown	200 µg/L	World Health Organization (WHO) drinking water guidelines		high
#P002	chemical	health	guideline	dichloroacetic acid (DCA)	drinking water	unknown	50 µg/L	World Health Organization (WHO) drinking water guidelines		high
#P003	chemical	health	guideline	total haloacetic acids	drinking water	unknown	80 µg/L	Health Canada's guideline for total haloacetic acids in drinking water		high
#P004	chemical	treatment	mandatory	tetrachloroethylene	drinking water	requirement	<= 0.005 mg/L	NSF/ANSI Standard 53 - maximum finished effluent concentration for reduction of tetrachloroethylene concentrations	from an average influent concentration of 0.015 mg/L	high
#P005	chemical	treatment	mandatory	tetrachloroethylene	drinking water	requirement	< 0.001 mg/L	NSF/ANSI Standard 53 surrogate testing - maximum final (effluent) concentration	from an influent (challenge) concentration of 0.081 mg/L	high
#P006	chemical	treatment	mandatory	tetrachloroethylene	drinking water	requirement	> 99 %	NSF/ANSI Standard 53 surrogate testing reduction requirement		high
#P007	chemical	treatment	mandatory	tetrachloroethylene	drinking water	requirement	< 0.001 mg/L	Reverse osmosis systems certified to NSF/ANSI Standard 58 (RO)		high

D Definitions (32)

Req ID	Name	Context	Confidence
#D001	GAC	granular activated carbon	high
#D002	PTA	packed tower aeration	high
#D003	BATs	best available technologies	high
#D004	AOPs	advanced oxidation processes	high
#D005	PAC	powdered activated carbon	high
#D006	NOM	natural organic matter	high
#D007	EBCT	empty bed contact time	high
#D008	Initial breakthrough	the time when the contaminant concentration in the effluent exceeds the treatment objective.	high
#D009	AOP	the use of appropriate combinations of ultraviolet (UV) light, chemical oxidants and catalysts (ozone/hydrogen peroxide, ozone/UV, UV/hydrogen peroxide, UV/titanium dioxide, ozone/UV/titanium dioxide, ozone oxidation at elevated pH) to generate highly reactive radicals, such as hydroxyl radicals, which are strong oxidants and react rapidly and non-selectively with organic contaminants.	high
#D010	UV	ultraviolet	high
#D011	TCA	trichloroacetic acid	high
#D012	DCA	dichloroacetic acid	high
#D013	WHO	World Health Organization	high
#D014	AOC	assimilable organic carbon	high
#D015	PVC	Polyvinyl chloride	high
#D016	PE	polyethylene	high
#D017	DI	ductile iron	high
#D018	NSF	NSF International	high
#D019	ANSI	American National Standards Institute	high
#D020	SCC	Standards Council of Canada	high
#D021	Air stripping	An air stripping process brings water and air into contact, allowing the transfer of volatile contaminants from the water to the air, as the driving force of the process is the contaminant concentration gradient between the two phases.	high
#D022	Pervaporation	emerging polymeric membrane-based technology for the removal of organic contaminants from water where separation is based on the relative solubility and diffusivity of each component in the membrane material.	high
#D023	Vacuum membrane distillation	process uses porous and hydrophobic membranes that act only as support for the vapour-liquid interface; the liquid stream vaporizes on the feed side of the membrane; the vapour diffuses through the membrane pores and is condensed outside the membrane.	high
#D024	Fenton oxidation reaction	reaction based on strong oxidizing (OH·) radicals produced by the reaction of hydrogen peroxide with iron sulphate.	high
#D025	e-beam	high-energy electron beam	high
#D026	point-of-use	Filtration systems installed at the faucet	high
#D027	point-of-entry	Filtration systems installed at the location where water enters the home	high
#D028	RO	Reverse osmosis	high
#D029	Membrane air stripping	Air stripping of VOCs with microporous polypropylene hollow fibre membranes	high
#D030	OH·	hydroxyl radicals	high
#D031	cure	dry	high
#D032	kg/m3	kilograms of GAC per cubic metre of water treated	high