This innovative research project sought to address microbial contamination of surface source drinking water by focusing on the cause of waterborne outbreaks of microbial contaminants using a “Watershed-to-Tap” framework. Novel methods allowed the researchers to assess community health and watershed events in real-time.
The project team, led by Dr. Monica Emelko, have designed field and laboratory experiments to fill knowledge gaps related to better management of groundwater supplies and interpretation of contamination risks.
This project, led by Mohammed Dore and James Byrne, focused on the problem of combined sewer overflow and its effect on the Great Lakes Region.
The project team, led by Dr. Edwin Cey, focused on understanding the transport of pathogens in the Abbotsford-Sumas aquifer, which is a large shallow groundwater resource that serves as the water supply for more than 100,000 people in Canada and the United States, and has a history of nitrate contamination related to intensive agricultural land [...]
This research examined the operations and design of distribution systems to direct investments to improve integrity and reduce vulnerability to failure and the effect of intrusion on water quality. Results have benefitted municipalities, industry, the engineering community and regulatory agencies.
The aims of the project were to evaluate the effect of non-point sources of pollution from urban and agricultural sources, to develop new methods to examine cumulative effects on watersheds with a focus on trace metals, pathogens, and antibiotics, and to test innovative methods to reduce ecosystem and human health impacts.
In order to produce competitive crops, farmers need to use intensive agricultural practices which include the use of pesticides and fertilizers. However, these practices are known to degrade water quality. Water quality degradation resulting from present and past land-use activities has evolved from a topic of concern to a major regulatory issue nationally.
This work can help assess health risks from Disinfection By-Products (DBP) in drinking water and guide the choice of disinfection processes for those responsible for drinking water quality, enhancing their ability to reduce the formation of harmful by-products and best invest resources to control DBP formation.
Within this project, the researchers sought to investigate pathogen sources at the molecular level through identification of species-specific traits, which would allow potential hosts and reservoirs harboring waterborne pathogens to be identified and provide a measure of human health risks associated with recreational and drinking water.
This research explores technologies and management strategies for cold climate aspects of water treatment wetlands in agriculture and domestic applications. The project addresses the core challenges of developing innovative techniques for storm water and wastewater management and rebuilding small scale and rural infrastructure.