Investigates strategies for reducing the volume and weight of water treatment plant residuals in preparation for disposal in landfills. The report begins with a six-step protocol for evaluating and improving polymer conditioning before water treatment residuals are dewatered. The research portion examines three online characterization techniques for monitoring and controlling the polymer dose used to condition water treatment residuals before dewatering. The results of laboratory jar tests and plant-scale studies are presented for liquid-stream viscosity, streaming current, and light obscuration techniques borrowed from the wastewater industry. No index. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR