Both the proposed United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) Disinfectants- Disinfection By-Products and Enhanced Surface Water Treatment rules have provisions for minimizing the formation of undesirable precursors of disinfection by-products (DBPs) in drinking water Natural Organic Matter (NOM) contains many of the precursors to the DBPs formed following disinfection of drinking water. DAX-8 resin procedures were used to isolate and fractionate NOM into six dissolved organic matter (DOM) fractions; Hydrophobic acid (FA), base (FB), neutral (FN), and hydrophilic acid (PA), base (PB) and neutral (PN). Aluminum sulfate (alum) jar coagulation tests were performed to determine the optimum coagulation ranges of each fraction. Different levels of pH, fraction concentrations, and coagulant levels were used in the experiments. Trihalomethane formation potential tests were performed on all the samples to check the removal of DBP precursors. Given the reactivities of the individual fractions to the formation of selected DBPs (i.e. trihalomethanes, halo acetonitriles, haloacetic acids), one can optimize on the removal of specific problematic fractions. Hence, if minimization of DBP formation was solely due to specific removal of precursors, microbial inactivation issues would be resolved due to the fact that CT may be increased without an increase in DBP formation.