Advancing water treatment requires more than innovative technologies; it requires confidence that those technologies will perform reliably at full scale and in real-world operating conditions. As utilities face evolving water treatment and supply challenges, pilot testing has become a critical tool for reducing risk and supporting informed decision-making.
In a recent interview with Water Online, Dana Gonzalez, principal technologist at Carollo Engineers, shared how piloting, modeling, and operator-focused design work together to improve treatment outcomes and prepare utilities for the future.
Why Pilot Testing Matters in Water and Wastewater Treatment
Dana’s career has been shaped by hands-on experience working directly with operations staff, an influence that strongly informs her approach to pilot testing. Rather than focusing solely on performance data, she emphasized the importance of understanding how a system will function day to day.
“Operators don’t just want to know what a process flow diagram looks like,” Dana explained. “They want to know how does a cleaning procedure work? What does troubleshooting look like? How do the alarms function and how should I respond to them?”
Pilot testing gives operators the opportunity to interact with equipment, perform routine operations and maintenance, and provide early feedback that can be incorporated into design. That real-world engagement leads to better-informed decisions and more practical, operable facilities.
Using Modeling and Piloting Together to Reduce Risk
Dana described piloting as part of an iterative process rather than a standalone exercise. Early-stage modeling can help utilities narrow down a universe of potential treatment technologies based on site-specific conditions. From there, piloting generates real-world performance data using actual water quality from the facility.
“That information funnels back into the model,” Dana said. “This iterative feedback loop helps de-risk certain aspects of full-scale implementation.”
By combining modeling with pilot data, utilities gain a clearer understanding of how technologies will integrate with existing processes, helping avoid overdesign, unnecessary costs, or operational surprises.
The Role of Pilot Testing in PFAS Treatment Decisions
With PFAS treatment technologies rapidly expanding, Dana emphasized that bench-scale and pilot testing are increasingly valuable tools for navigating a crowded and evolving marketplace.
For established technologies such as granular activated carbon and ion exchange, bench-scale testing like rapid small-scale column testing can help utilities understand breakthrough behavior and inform early design decisions. However, when evaluating newer approaches, larger-scale piloting becomes essential.
“As soon as you move into novel technologies, you really need to go beyond bench-scale testing,” Dana said. “You need to understand how the system works at a larger scale.”
In reuse applications, many utilities are taking piloting even further by developing demonstration-scale facilities. These facilities serve not only as testing platforms but also as training environments where operators can practice responding to alarms, managing critical control points, and maintaining advanced treatment systems.
Supporting Confident Technology Decisions
Ultimately, Dana’s perspective reinforces that pilot testing is not just about technology validation; it’s about people, operations, and long-term success. When utilities invest in thoughtful piloting strategies, they gain data, operator buy-in, and clarity that support smoother implementation and better outcomes.
To hear more about pilot testing from Dana Gonzalez, watch the full Water Online interview:
