Abstract
The use of particle counters in potable water treatment is achieving higher levels of acceptance on
an ongoing basis. This is due to its superior sensitivity in terms of water clarity determination in
comparison to turbidity meters. However, the ability of the particle counter to distinguish between
various particle sizes, arguably its biggest advantage over turbidity measurement, is not being
utilised fully, due to the large volumes of data generated and the amount of post-measurement data
processing required to unlock some of the information. In many cases it is being used purely as
a substitute or parallel measurement for turbidity. Furthermore, in the South African context, where
data is being generated, the particle count data holds little value as it cannot be compared to
generally available data sets to reveal the entire message contained in the count. No record of
counts is available to rate new measurements against.
Prof. J. Haarhoff