{"669209":{"#nid":"669209","#data":{"type":"news","title":" CEE Researchers Awarded $2.1 Million Grant to Ensure Cleaner, Safer Drinking Water ","body":[{"value":"\u003Cdiv\u003E\r\n\u003Cdiv\u003E\r\n\u003Cdiv\u003E\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003EResearchers from Georgia Tech\u0027s School of Civil and Environmental Engineering received a $2.1 million grant from the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.epa.gov\/newsreleases\/epa-awards-nearly-85m-research-grants-ensure-cleaner-and-safer-drinking-water\u0022\u003EU.S. Environmental Protection Agency \u003C\/a\u003E(EPA) to investigate contaminants in drinking water.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003EThe EPA is funding the research on the occurrence and concentration of pathogens and disinfection by-products and the environmental conditions favorable to their growth in drinking water distribution systems. \u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003ECarlton S. Wilder Associate Professor\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/ce.gatech.edu\/directory\/person\/ameet-pinto\u0022\u003E Ameet Pinto\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E, the project\u0027s \u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003Eprincipal investigator, said disinfection is used to kill microorganisms to make drinking water safe for consumption.\u0026nbsp; Yet, disinfecting to kill microorganisms can also result in formation of harmful disinfection by-products. \u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cdiv\u003E\r\n\u003Cdiv\u003E\r\n\u003Cdiv\u003E\r\n\u003Cdiv\u003E\r\n\u003Cdiv\u003E\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u201cOur key project goal is to shine a light on when, where, and why pathogens and disinfection by-products occur and co-occur in drinking water systems across the country,\u201d Pinto said. \u201cThis will help water utilities better navigate the tradeoff of managing microbiological and chemical risks in drinking water and thus enhance the reliability of safe drinking water supply to their consumers.\u201d\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003EAccording to the EPA, opportunistic pathogens such as Legionella \u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003Epneumophila\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E, \u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003Enontuberculous \u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003Emycobacteria, and Pseudomonas\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003Eaeruginosa\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E can grow in drinking water systems and pose potential risks to public health. The occurrence of these and other microbial pathogens is also associated with contaminated storage facilities and other problems in water distribution systems such as backflow and low-pressure incidents. \u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003EIf left untreated, these contamination events can lead to outbreaks of gastrointestinal, respiratory, and other waterborne illnesses. The disinfectants used to control these pathogens can cause additional problems by reacting with natural organic matter, bromide, and other contaminants to form disinfectant by-products, which also have the potential to be harmful to human health.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003EGeorgia Tech is one of four institutions selected by the EPA to receive nearly $8.5 million in grant funding, along with the University of Minnesota, Michigan State University, and the University of Texas. The Georgia Tech team includes Turnipseed Family Chair \u0026amp; Professor \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/ce.gatech.edu\/directory\/person\/ching-hua-huang\u0022\u003EChing-Hua Huang\u003C\/a\u003E and Assistant Professor \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/ce.gatech.edu\/directory\/person\/katy-graham\u0022\u003EKaty Graham\u003C\/a\u003E. \u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\u003C\/div\u003E\r\n\u003C\/div\u003E\r\n\u003C\/div\u003E\r\n\u003C\/div\u003E\r\n\u003C\/div\u003E\r\n\u003C\/div\u003E\r\n\u003C\/div\u003E\r\n\u003C\/div\u003E\r\n","summary":"","format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003ED\u003Cspan\u003Eisinfection is used to kill microorganisms to make drinking water safe for consumption. Yet, disinfecting to kill microorganisms can also result in formation of harmful disinfection by-products. The goal of the Georgia Tech research project is to shine a light on when, where, and why pathogens and disinfection by-products occur and co-occur in drinking water systems across the country. This will help water utilities better navigate the tradeoff of managing microbiological and chemical risks in drinking water and thus enhance the reliability of safe drinking water supply to their consumers.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"The EPA is funding the research on the occurrence and concentration of pathogens and disinfection by-products and the environmental conditions favorable to their growth in drinking water distribution systems. "}],"uid":"35146","created_gmt":"2023-08-28 15:00:42","changed_gmt":"2023-08-31 14:16:13","author":"mweinman3","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2023-08-28T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2023-08-28T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"related_links":[{"url":"https:\/\/www.epa.gov\/research-grants\/national-priorities-research-disinfectants-disinfection-products-and-opportunistic","title":"National Priorities: Research on Disinfectants, Disinfection By-products, and Opportunistic Pathogens in Drinking Water Distribution Systems Grants "}],"groups":[{"id":"1188","name":"Research Horizons"},{"id":"1214","name":"News Room"}],"categories":[],"keywords":[{"id":"187915","name":"go-researchnews"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39441","name":"Bioengineering and Bioscience"},{"id":"39531","name":"Energy and Sustainable Infrastructure"}],"news_room_topics":[{"id":"71891","name":"Health and Medicine"}],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EMelissa Fralick |\u0026nbsp;melissa.fralick@ce.gatech.edu\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["melissa.fralick@ce.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}