Coagulation process can be used to control natural organic matter (NOM) during drinking water production. The effectiveness of the coagulation process appeared to depend on the pH of coagulation rather than coagulant dosages. Jar tests conducted with depressed pH levels at different coagulation conditions removed more dissolved organic carbon (DOC) than those at moderate pH levels. For low DOC waters, like Omerli Lake Water (OLW), additional treatment would be necessary to achieve enhanced removal of NOM. In this study, three different coagulation techniques were used to remove disinfection by-products (DBP) precursors from three Istanbul surface water supplies. Jar test results indicate that optimize coagulation (OC) can enhance the removal of DBP precursors, and the removal of DOC could be improved from the current average of 15% to an average of 56% at the three sites tested. At lower pH, ferric coagulants generally performed better for removal of DBP precursors than did alum. (c) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.