Dr. A.P. Black
An Environmental Engineering Scientist

His Contributions to Water Chemistry
 

Contents • Introduction • Chemistry of Coagulation • Chemistry of Organic Matter • Water Policy and Other Interests • Summary • References

Water Policy and Other Interests
Dr. Black was instrumental in the initiation of work towards sustainable water use in Florida. He wrote about the extensive quantities of surface and underground freshwater available in Florida. He discussed how the discharge of wastes and their chemical constituents had created many difficulties in securing safe water supplies for Florida communities by the late 1930s. Because Dr. Black was a highly respected water scientist and engineer, he influenced several key pieces of environmental legislation.

He was instrumental in the early development of ground water law. He discussed and wrote on the issue in terms of common-law doctrine, reasonable use, prior appropriation, and groundwater classifications. He called for legislation that recognized all groundwater as public waters.

On the introduction of fluoride to public waters to improve dental health, Dr. Black wrote: “All available evidence has indicated that the fluoridation of public water supplies is in the interest of group health and the chemists of America stand ready, as they always have and always will, to participate with the members of the dental profession in its practical realization.” He later defended his comments when called on to refute early critics of fluoridation.

Dr. Black was keenly aware of the need for adequate water conservation, and was in a unique position to have a significant impact on the future of water conservation. In the years following World War II, he focused attention on the conservation of water and indicated that through effective policy and science, water availability could be manipulated and controlled.

His propensity for sound, forward thinking is evident in an article that discussed the water resources of the southern United States. He argued for the need to accumulate long-term basic data and the importance of water reuse, artificial recharge, and desalination, issues which are still very relevant today. The increasing popularity of water reuse can be seen at the University of Florida, which uses treated wastewater for irrigation on campus. Ground water recharge has also become popular in many locations throughout the United States and elsewhere. It is an option under consideration to help solve the problem of the restoration of the Everglades.

Other areas in which Dr. Black contributed exceptional writings included salt water intrusion, where he was one of the first to call for governmental and public intervention, and the advantages of swimming pool disinfection using iodine in place of chlorine. He found that iodine was often superior to chlorine when compared on the basis of halogen residual and applied dosage requirements, as well as the lack of odors, tastes, or irritations associated with iodine. While this idea did not stand the test of time, he reported no negative impacts on pool water color resulting from required iodine dosages. Chlorine still remains the disinfectant of choice.

Dr. Black helped integrate polymers and polyelectrolytes into water treatment. He recognized their ability to enhance water treatment due to the size of the molecules and their high exchange capacities. He helped change the techniques used for the measurement of low turbidity levels. He reported that the turbidity measurement technique of the day (the Jackson candle turbidimeter) should incorporate electrical photometers to measure light scattering at low angles, a technology that is now widely employed. 

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