Research seeks to transform urban water management
Cities have long treated stormwater, wastewater, and drinking water as siloed entities, but the Occoquan Watershed Monitoring Laboratory, led by Stanley Grant, is on a mission to change that through a new concept called “One Water” that is gaining momentum among urban water practitioners.
“We are aiming to stop thinking of water as three separate things and start treating it all as a single resource,” said Grant. “This will take innovative methods and technologies to tackle water quality challenges as a unified system.”
The timing of this is crucial as the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) finalized strict limits on perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl (PFAS) in drinking water on April 10. The limits will require utility organizations to reduce PFAS to the near lowest level that can be measured.
PFAS are also known as forever chemicals because they are slow to break down in the environment or in human bodies. They are found in food packaging, clothing, cosmetics, and even toilet paper. Recently, it was revealed that they also are found in our bodies. In fact, a report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that 97 percent of Americans have a measurable amount of PFAS in their blood.
Exposure to PFAS has been linked to cancers, impacts to the liver and heart, and immune and developmental damage to infants and children. According to the United States Geological Survey, at least 45 percent of the nation’s tap water is estimated to have one or more types of PFAS, but it could be higher as not all PFAS can be detected with current tests.
The civil and environmental engineering faculty at the Occoquan Watershed Monitoring Laboratory knew that something needed to be done about this, which is where the One Water concept emerged. This initiative is part of an ongoing $3.6 million National Science Foundation Growing Convergence Research project - a five-year program currently in its fourth year.
“As we near the end of that project, it is spawning a number of new initiatives, such as the One Water vision,” said Grant.
Putting the One Water vision into action
The Occoquan Reservoir in Northern Virginia is a vital source of drinking water for nearly a million people. The Occoquan Watershed Monitoring Laboratory has sampling stations located all over the Occoquan watershed, stretching from the southern boundary of the Dulles Airport to portions of the Marine Corps Base Quantico. Researchers have been collecting data on the watershed for over 40 years to help local regulators make informed decisions regarding, for example, how land use and climate change might affect local ecosystems and drinking water.
Grant said changing the long-held practice of treating stormwater, wastewater, and drinking water as separate entities will be a process. In the United States, different organizations separately manage the three areas of water following different rules, norms, and strategies.
“This change will be a process, but an important one,” said Grant. “Our $3.6 million National Science Foundation project is not just about research, but also about education and empowerment of stakeholders. By partnering to develop strategies to manage risks, communities in Northern Virginia can build resilience in the face of population growth and climate change.”
The project seeks to bridge the gap between theory and practice by forging connections with practitioners and community organizations. The Occoquan Watershed Monitoring Laboratory hopes to work hand-in-hand with those on the ground to guide students and researchers to anchor their knowledge in real-world challenges and solutions. With insights from those conversations, the researchers then will test new water quality modeling frameworks to develop a scalable approach to managing both short-term and long-term water quality issues.
Grant said bringing together diverse stakeholders, including community members, practitioners, and researchers, will allow the laboratory to better define and understand the risks to critical drinking water supplies and ecosystems. Ultimately, the goal is to develop strategies that are responsive to the needs of communities and are adaptable to future population growth and climate change.
The funding will allow for workshops and demonstrations for local water utilities and communities. The goal is to identify how to meet new EPA standards at a minimal cost to residents in the region.
In the process, the undergraduate and graduate students involved in the project will gain hands-on experience and training in interdisciplinary research to equip them to tackle complex water challenges in their careers beyond graduation from Virginia Tech.
This project is more than just a research endeavor. It is a catalyst for change.
“By empowering the next generation of water leaders, and fostering collaboration across sectors, we hope to create a more sustainable future for urban water systems,” said Grant.
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