Water Research Foundation

DESCRIPTION:THIS PROJECT AIMS TO ENHANCE WATER TECHNOLOGY INNOVATION AND WATER RESOURCES INFORMATION AVAILABILITY TO ADVANCE CLEAN AND SAFE WATER REUSE GOALS AT A NATIONAL SCALE. THE RESEARCH OBJECTIVES AND APPROACH ALIGN DEVELOPMENT OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY WITH ADVANCES IN SOCIOLOGICAL UNDERSTANDING OF OPPORTUNITIES AND BARRIERS TO UNLOCK THE FULL NATIONWIDE POTENTIAL OF WATER REUSE.ACTIVITIES:THE PROJECT WILL: (A) USE WASTEWATER-BASED EPIDEMIOLOGY (WBE) AND SURVEILLANCE TO UNDERSTAND PATHOGEN LOADING AND ENABLE RAPID IDENTIFICATION AND RESPONSE IN REUSE SYSTEMS, DEVELOP QUANTITATIVE MICROBIAL RISK ASSESSMENT TOOLS FOR APPLICATION TO UNDER-APPRECIATED REUSE APPLICATIONS, AND IDENTIFY OPPORTUNITIES FOR CHEMICAL HEALTH RISK REDUCTION; (B) DEVELOP A COMPREHENSIVE MODEL FOR REUSE TREATMENT PROCESSES THAT INCLUDES PREDICTIVE ALGORITHMS, INTEGRATED TO EVALUATE TREATMENT TRAIN PERFORMANCE FOR MICROBIAL AND CHEMICAL WATER QUALITY GOALS, INCORPORATING PILOT DEMONSTRATION AND TECHNO-ECONOMIC ANALYSIS TO SUPPORT REAL-TIME MONITORING AND RISK MITIGATION; (C) QUANTIFY WATER REUSE POTENTIAL ACROSS THE NATION AND IDENTIFY BARRIERS, DRIVERS AND PATHWAYS TO SUCCESSFUL REUSE THROUGH A RIGOROUS CASE STUDY EVALUATION PROCESS; (D) PARTNER WITH COMMUNITY LEADERS TO SYNTHESIZE AND ADDRESS ORGANIZATIONAL AND SOCIAL BARRIERS TO ADVANCING REUSE ACROSS DIVERSE CONTEXTS AND FOR TRADITIONALLY MARGINALIZED COMMUNITIES; AND (E) EVALUATE PLANNED AND POTENTIAL REUSE PROJECTS THROUGH A QUANTITATIVE SUSTAINABLE DESIGN PROCESS TO IDENTIFY STRATEGIES FOR WATER REUSE CAPACITY BUILDING EFFORTS EXPANDING REUSE ACROSS A DIVERSITY OF CONTEXTS.SUBRECIPIENT:UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO BOULDER- OVERALL TOTAL: $1,942,982 (1,335,508-FEDERAL, $607,474-COST SHARE). COSTS INCLUDE SUPPORT FOR WORK RELATED TO WASTEWATER EPIDEMIOLOGY AND DEVELOPING PREDICTIVE ALGORITHMS. SOUTHERN NEVADA WATER AUTHORITY - OVERALL TOTAL: $305,855 ($237,731 FEDERAL, $68,124 COST SHARE) FOR SUPPORT OF WASTEWATER-BASED EPIDEMIOLOGY AND QUANTITATIVE MICROBIAL RISK ASSESSMENT ACTIVITIES. UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON- OVERALL TOTAL: $198,798 ($193,798 FEDERAL PLUS $5,000 COST SHARE) WORK ASSOCIATED WITH WASTEWATER-BASED EPIDEMIOLOGY. COLORADO SCHOOL OF MINES - OVERALL TOTAL: $813,660 ($650,928 FEDERAL PLUS $162,732 COST SHARE) SUPPORT FOR THE OPERATION OF THE MOBILE DEMONSTRATION TRAILER FOR ONLINE MONITORING AND CONTROL AS RISK MITIGATION TECHNIQUES. WATER CENTER AT UPENN - TOTAL SUBAWARD: $642,458 COST INCLUDE SUPPORT FOR FACILITATING TWELVE (12) REGIONAL WORKSHOPS AND FOR EXPERT ASSISTANCE WITH QUANTIFYING WATER AVAILABILITY AND IDENTIFYING WATER REUSE POTENTIAL IN THE US, AND IDENTIFYING ORGANIZATIONAL AND SOCIAL BARRIERS AT A NATIONAL SCALE.. WATEREUSE ASSOCIATION - TOTAL SUBAWARD: $13,972 TO SUPPORT WORK ASSOCIATED WITH SOCIAL SCIENCE, INFORMATION, ENGAGEMENT, AND ORGANIZATIONAL BARRIERS.OUTCOMES:THIS PROJECT'S OUTPUTS INCLUDE ANNUAL AND FINAL REPORTS, AS WELL AS NATIONAL DATA ON VIRUSES AND ANTIMICROBIAL RESISTANCE HAZARDS IN SEWAGE, AN OUTBREAK READINESS RESPONSE PLAN FOR THE REUSE SECTOR, A QUANTITATIVE MICROBIAL RISK ASSESSMENT TOOL, CASE STUDIES FOR POTABLE AND AGRICULTURAL REUSE, AND A DEMONSTRATION OF THE RELATIVE HEALTH INDEX TOOL FOR CONSTITUENTS OF CONCERN IN REUSE APPLICATIONS. ADDITIONAL OUTPUTS INCLUDE DETERMINISTIC ALGORITHMS FOR CRITICAL PROCESSES AND CONSTITUENTS OF CONCERN, AN INTEGRATED WATER REUSE TREATMENT PLANT MODEL, INTERACTIVE MAPS SHOWING WATER REUSE AVAILABILITY AND POTENTIAL, CASE STUDY AND CROSS CASE COMPARISON REPORTS, AND A SUSTAINABILITY ASSESSMENT FRAMEWORK APPLIED TO MULTIPLE WATER REUSE SCENARIOS. THESE OUTPUTS WILL BE INTEGRATED AS BEST PRACTICES FOR COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT STRATEGIES AND INSTITUTIONAL, STATE AND LOCAL REGULATORY DECISION-MAKING PROCESSES, INCLUDING A SYNTHESIS OF IDENTIFIED BARRIERS AND DRIVERS FOR REUSE, AND A COMPENDIUM OF NATIONAL AND REGIONAL NEEDS FOR ORGANIZATIONAL AND SOCIAL FACTORS RELATED TO U

DESCRIPTION:THE PURPOSE OF THE PROJECT IS TO CHARACTERIZE EXPOSURE POTENTIALS OF ANTIBIOTIC RESISTANT BACTERIA (ARB) AND ANTIBIOTIC RESISTANT GENES (ARGS) AND CREATE A COMPREHENSIVE RISK ASSESSMENT MODELING FRAMEWORK TAILORED TO THE UNIQUE ASPECTS OF AMR ALLOWING POTENTIAL MITIGATION OPTIONS. THE PROJECT WILL QUANTIFY ARB/ARGS FROM WASTEWATER TREATMENT PLANT EFFLUENT AND BIOSOLIDS AND WILL ASSESS THEIR FATE IN SOIL AND AQUATIC ENVIRONMENTS AS WELL ASHOW ARB/ARGS ATTENUATE OR AMPLIFY IN THE ENVIROMNENT. RESEARCH FINDINGS WILL BUILD UPON A DATABASE OF ARB/ARG OCCURRENCE AROUND THE WORLD AND WILL SUPPORT THE DEVELOPMENT OF A HUMAN HEALTH RISK ASSESSMENT FOR WASTEWATER EFFLUENT AND BIOSOLID SOURCES, ACTIVITIES:FIELD STUDIES WILL BE CONDUCTED TO MEASURE ANTIMICROBIAL RESISTANT BACTERIA AND GENE MASS LOADING RANGES IN WASTEWATER TREATMENT PLANT EFFLUENTS IN A VARIETY OF COMMUNITIES ACROSS THE US. WASTEWATER SOURCES OF RESISTANT GENES AND BACTERIA WILL THEN BE COMPARED WITH OTHER SOURCES IN AREAS WITH DIFFERENT WASTEWATER EFFLUENT AND MANAGEMENT APPROACHES. AN AMR-TAILORED HUMAN HEALTH RISK ASSESSMENT FOR WASTEWATER TREATMENT PLANT EFFLUENT WILL THEN BE DEVELOPED TO INFORM MANAGEMENT OPTIONS. STAKEHOLDERS WILL BE ENGAGED THROUGHOUT THE PROJECT TO TRANSLATE RESEARCH FINDINGS INTO ACTIONABLE SOLUTIONS. SUBRECIPIENT:VIRGINIA TECH ($990,000 + COST SHARE OF $820,074 + WRF MATCH OF $75,000 FOR THE TOTAL OF $1,885,074) ARIZONA STATE UNIVERSITY ($799,999 + COST SHARE OF $128,242 + WRF MATCH OF $75,000 FOR THE TOTAL OF $1,003,241) AND UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH FLORIDA ($275,000 + COST SHARE OF $57,231 + WRF MATCH OF $25,000 FOR THE TOTAL OF $357,321) WILL CONDUCT FIELD SAMPLE COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS. WEST VIRGINIA UNIVERSITY ($250,000 + COST SHARE OF $63,166 + WRF MATCH OF $25,000 FOR THE TOTAL OF $338,166) WILL CONDUCT GEOSPATIAL MAPPING AND ANALYSIS.OUTCOMES:EXPECTED DELIVERABLES INCLUDE ANNUAL PROGRESS AND FINAL REPORTS AND PUBLICATIONS, AS WELL AS NEW INFORMATION ON ESTIMATED AMPLIFICATION/ATTENUATION/PERSISTENCE RATES OF ARB/ARGS IN RECEIVING WATERS AND SOILS SUBJECT TO LAND-APPLICATION OF BIOSOLIDS. A COMPARISON OF ENVIRONMENTAL METAGENOMIC AND WHOLE-GENOME SEQUENCING DATA COVERING MULTIPLE WASTEWATER MANAGEMENT SCENARIOS WILL ALSO BE DEVELOPED ALONG WITH A RISK ASSESSMENT FRAMEWORK FOR WASTEWATER SOURCES OF AMR. DATA WILL ALSO BE ENTERED INTO A PUBLICLY AVAILABLE DATABASE AND SEARCH TOOL FOR ESTIMATING ARB/ARG OUTPUTS FROM WASTEWATER TREATMENT PLANTS ALONG WITH IDENTIFICATION OF OPERATING CONDITIONS THAT INFLUENCE ARB/ARG LEVELS. REPORTS, PEER REVIEWED PUBLICATIONS, AND WEBINARS WILL BE USED TO ENGAGE STAKEHOLDERS AT THE END OF THE PROJECT. INTENDED BENEFICIARIES OF THIS PROGRAM INCLUDE THE WASTEWATER UTILITIES, STATE AND LOCAL REGULATORS, WATER QUALITY PROGRAM MANAGERS, AND COMMUNITIES EFFECTED BY THE SPREAD OF ANTIMICROBIAL RESISTANCE DOWNSTREAM OF WASTEWATER TREATMENT PLANT DISCHARGES.

THE OBJECTIVE OF THIS RESEARCH IS TO FURTHER THE SCIENCE OF RISK ASSESSMENT AND MITIGATION FOR LEAD EXPOSURE, AND TO TRANSLATE THIS INTO PRACTICES THAT LIMIT OR EVEN ELIMINATE LEAD EXPOSURE FOR DRINKING WATER CONSUMERS, ESPECIALLY VULNERABLE POPULATIONS SUCH AS CHILDREN AND PREGNANT WOMEN. THIS WORK IS APPLICABLE NOT ONLY TO SENSITIVE MEMBERS OF THE GENERAL PUBLIC, BUT ALSO SMALL AND LARGE COMMUNITIES ACROSS THE U.S. WITH DIFFERENT WATER SOURCES AND VARYING WATER QUALITY.

THE PI PROPOSES TO ESTABLISH A LIFE CYCLE COST FRAMEWORK MODEL FOR STORMWATER INFRASTRUCTURE ALTERNATIVES WHICH WILL ALLOW DECISION MAKERS TO ASSESS

THIS 5-YEAR EFFORT PROVIDES THE MECHANISM TO CONDUCT A NUMBER OF RESEARCH PROJECTS ON VARIOUS TOPICS CONCERNING DRINKING WATER ISSUES TO HELP WATER U

THE PURPOSE OF THE PROPOSED RESEARCH IS TO PRODUCE A PRIORITIZED LIST OF UNREGULATED ORGANIC CHEMICALS (UOCS) THAT HAVE THE GREATEST POTENTIAL TO POSE ELEVATED RISKS TO HUMAN HEALTH AND THE ENVIRONMENT, AND STANDARD RAPID ASSAYS TO MEASURE MOBILE AND BIOAVAILABLE FRACTIONS OF THESE CHEMICALS IN BIOSOLIDS. ACTIVITIES INCLUDE PRIORITIZING UOCS IN BIOSOLIDS BASED ON THEIR OCCURRENCE, MOBILITY, PERSISTENCE, AND BIOACCUMULATIONAND DEVELOPING SIMPLE STANDARD ASSAYS TO MEASURE MOBILE AND BIOAVAILABLE FRACTIONS OF PRIORITY UOCS IN BIOSOLIDSAND AND CARRYING OUT FIELD STUDIES AT MULTIPLE LOCATIONS TO EVALUATE PLANT AND EARTHWORM ACCUMULATION, LEACHING AND RUNOFF RISKS OF PRIORITY UOCS UNDER DIFFERENT BIOSOLIDS APPLICATION, SOIL, CLIMATE AND PLANTING CONDITIONS. THE EXPECTED OUTCOME OF THIS RESEARCH IS A DECREASE IN ASSOCIATED PUBLIC HEALTH AND ECOSYSTEM RISKS. DIRECT BENEFICIARIES OF THIS RESEARCH INCLUDE THE SCIENTIFIC COMMUNITY, AGRICULTURE AND WATER SECTORS AND THE BROADER COMMUNITY IN ENSURING THE SAFE REUSE OF BIOSOLIDS THROUGH LAND APPLICATIONS IN THE U.S. UC RIVERSIDE, PURDUE UNIVERSITY AND THE UNIVERSITY OF CINCINNATI ARE INTEGRALLY INVOLVED IN CONDUCTING ALL ASPECTS OF THE RESEARCH IN THE WORK PLAN.

THE PURPOSE OF THIS PROJECT IS TO IMPROVE PUBLIC HEALTH PROTECTION THROUGH THE DEVELOPMENT OF QUANTITATIVE DATA ON THE REMOVAL OF HUMAN ENTERIC VIRUSES BY TREATMENT PROCESSES WHERE WASTEWATER IS THE SOURCE WATER. RESEARCHERS WILL QUANTIFY THE REMOVAL OF SELECTED HUMAN ENTERIC VIRUSES BY DIFFERENT TREATMENT TRAINS AND PROCESSES AT FIVE FULL-SCALE WATER REUSE FACILITIES ACROSS THE UNITED STATES. ACTIVITIES INCLUDE MONITORING FIVE FULL-SCALE TREATMENT FACILITIES FOR VIRUS AND SURROGATE REMOVAL AFTER VARIOUS TREATMENT PROCESSES, THEN VALIDATING THE USEFULNESS OF SURROGATES FOR ASSIGNING LOG REDUCTION VALUES FOR THE DIFFERENT TREATMENT PROCESSES. DELIVERABLES AND OUTCOMES FROM THIS STUDY INCLUDE A TOOLBOX WITH, AT A MINIMUM, STANDARDIZED PROTOCOLS FOR DETECTION OF PATHOGENIC VIRUSES, APPLICATION OF VIRUS LOG REDUCTION VALUES AND SURROGATES, AND EXAMPLES OF HOW THE RESULTS OF THIS PROJECT CAN BE USED IN PRACTICE TO PROTECT PUBLIC HEALTH BY PROVIDING ROBUST VIRUS LOG REDUCTION VALUE CREDITS F

CROSSING THE FINISH LINE: INTEGRATION OF DATA-DRIVEN PROCESS CONTROL FOR MAXIMIZATION OF ENERGY AND RESOURCE EFFICIENCY IN ADVANCED WATER RESOURCE RECOVERY FACILITIES

THIS PROJECT WILL DEVELOP AN INTEGRATED FRAMEWORK THAT ENABLES THE ASSESSMENT OF WATER QUALITY AND AVAILABILITY IMPACTS UNDER SUITE OF CLIMATE AND NA

THIS PROJECT PROPOSES TO IMPROVE FULL-SCALE APPLICATIONS OF SHORTCUT NITROGEN REMOVAL PROCESSES BY INCREASING NITRITE AVAILABILITY FOR ANAEROBIC AMMONIUM OXIDIZING BACTERIA (ANAMMOX) IN MAINSTREAM SYSTEMS. WITH THE OPPORTUNITY FOR INNOVATIVE FULL-SCALE PROCESS DEPLOYMENT OVER THE TIMEFRAME OF THIS THREE-YEAR PROJECT, THE PROJECT INCLUDES A UTILITY ADVISORY COMMITTEE (UAC) ENGAGING TECHNICAL REPRESENTATIVES FROM 8 PROGRESSIVE UTILITIES IN HAB HOTSPOT REGIONS INCLUDING THE GREAT LAKES, MIDWEST, AND FLORIDA.

THIS STUDY WILL ASSESS THE IMPACT AND OUTCOMES OF REUSE AND CONSERVATION MEASURES ON ECOLOGICAL AND HUMAN HEALTH ON THE POTOMAC RIVERWATERSHED BY IDE

THIS STUDY PROPOSES TO EXAMINE THE EFFECTIVENESS AND LONG-TERM PERFORMANCE OF LEAD SERVICE LINE COATING TECHNOLOGIES AND LINING TECHNIQUES AS ALTERNA

DROUGHT MANAGEMENT UNDER A CHANGING CLIMATE: USING COST-BENEFIT ANALYSES TO ASSIST DRINKING WATER UTILITIES

WORKSHOP: ADVANCING UNDERSTANDING OF MICROBIOMES IN DRINKING WATER DISTRIBUTION SYSTEMS AND PREMISE PLUMBING USING META-OMICS TECHNIQUES, DENVER, CO, AUGUST 15-16, 2017

STUDY OF CORROSION PROTECTION CRITERIA AND MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS