Location: Water Management and Conservation Research
Project Number: 2020-13000-005-007-R
Project Type: Reimbursable Cooperative Agreement
Start Date: Jun 1, 2021
End Date: May 31, 2024
Objective:
The overall goal of the proposed study is to increase our understanding the distribution and transport of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in agroecosystems and to further identify the best management practices for reducing their risks on food production if recycled municipal wastewater (or reclaimed water) is used for irrigation, especially in semi-arid regions. The proposed work addresses two important food safety questions related to the transport and fate of contaminant of emerging concerns (CEC) when reclaimed water is used as source water for irrigation.
Approach:
The overall goal of the proposed project is to increase our understanding on the distribution and transport of PFAS in agroecosystems, and to develop adaptive management strategies to reduce their risks when using reclaimed water for crop production. The research team is composed of a water chemist, two environmental engineers, and a soil scientist from Clemson University and US Department of Agriculture – Agricultural Research Service (USDA-ARS). Through a series of greenhouse, laboratory, and field experiments in this 4-year study, we will ultimately develop a box model in describing the potential impacts on environmental health (i.e., occurrence and distribution of pollutants, soil and water quality, and crop risks) under different management practices (i.e., irrigation methods and soil amendments) when using reclaimed water in agroecosystem.
