Most of the coagulation studies done thus far were either site-specific or focused on only one variable and hence do not apply to real-world conditions. Developing a universal and practical model of coagulation has been a near-impossible task because 1) water is a chemically complex medium that varies spatially and temporally 2) the sheer number of factors and their interactions that determine the performance of the coagulant. The focus of this research is to develop a general model for coagulation with aluminum sulfate that has practical applications. The goal is also to identify the parameters that control optimum coagulation conditions while considering the removal of particulate (e.g., bacteria) and dissolved (e.g., organic matter) contaminants as well as chemical costs.