Project Number: 5347-13000-003-00
Project Type: Appropriated

Start Date: Jan 29, 2012
End Date: Jan 28, 2017

Objective:
Objective 1: Develop new and novel water quality indicators (biological and chemical) for assessment of reclaimed water quality. Objective 2: Determine the processes that govern the fate and transport of emerging contaminants, pathogens, and nutrients found in treated wastewater used for irrigation to provide a research basis for potential regulation of these constituents. Objective 3: Develop and optimize small on-site treatment systems to reduce emerging contaminants and pathogens found in domestic waste water used for irrigation.

Approach:
Field data from sites where treated effluent has been used will be gathered and used to determine the presence and suitability of selected emerging contaminants and pathogens found in treated municipal wastewater as indicators. Qualitative and quantitative enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA) will be developed for the identified wastewater indicators. Environmental samples will be taken and analyzed for nutrients, pathogens, and emerging contaminants. Distribution of nutrients, pathogens, and emerging contaminants will be used to determine which constituents may be accumulating in the environment for further investigations. Using a combination of lab studies fate and transport parameters will be determined for the identified constituents. Concurrently, a series of laboratory and field experiments will be conducted to determine the development of antibiotic resistance in native soil microbial populations. Finally, a small scale, low input treatment systems will be developed and validated to provide improvement in water quality and increased water supply by treating household wastewater.