84046201

Description:
This project aims to enhance water technology innovation and water resources information availability to advance clean and safe water reuse goals at a national scale. The research objectives and approach align development of science and technology with advances in sociological understanding of opportunities and barriers to unlock the full nationwide potential of water reuse.

Activities:
The project will:
(A) Use wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE) and surveillance to understand pathogen loading and enable rapid identification and response in reuse systems, develop quantitative microbial risk assessment tools for application to under-appreciated reuse applications, and identify opportunities for chemical health risk reduction.
(B) Develop a comprehensive model for reuse treatment processes that includes predictive algorithms, integrated to evaluate treatment train performance for microbial and chemical water quality goals, incorporating pilot demonstration and techno-economic analysis to support real-time monitoring and risk mitigation.
(C) Quantify water reuse potential across the nation and identify barriers, drivers, and pathways to successful reuse through a rigorous case study evaluation process.
(D) Partner with community leaders to synthesize and address organizational and social barriers to advancing reuse across diverse contexts and for traditionally marginalized communities.
(E) Evaluate planned and potential reuse projects through a quantitative sustainable design process to identify strategies for water reuse capacity building efforts expanding reuse across a diversity of contexts.

Subrecipient:
University of Colorado Boulder - Overall total: $1,942,982 ($1,335,508 federal, $607,474 cost share). Costs include support for work related to wastewater epidemiology and developing predictive algorithms.
Southern Nevada Water Authority - Overall total: $305,855 ($237,731 federal, $68,124 cost share) for support of wastewater-based epidemiology and quantitative microbial risk assessment activities.
University of Washington - Overall total: $198,798 ($193,798 federal plus $5,000 cost share) work associated with wastewater-based epidemiology.
Colorado School of Mines - Overall total: $813,660 ($650,928 federal plus $162,732 cost share) support for the operation of the mobile demonstration trailer for online monitoring and control as risk mitigation techniques.
Water Center at UPenn - Total subaward: $642,458 cost includes support for facilitating twelve (12) regional workshops and for expert assistance with quantifying water availability and identifying water reuse potential in the US, and identifying organizational and social barriers at a national scale.
WaterReuse Association - Total subaward: $13,972 to support work associated with social science, information, engagement, and organizational barriers.

Outcomes:
This project's outputs include annual and final reports, as well as national data on viruses and antimicrobial resistance hazards in sewage, an outbreak readiness response plan for the reuse sector, a quantitative microbial risk assessment tool, case studies for potable and agricultural reuse, and a demonstration of the relative health index tool for constituents of concern in reuse applications. Additional outputs include deterministic algorithms for critical processes and constituents of concern, an integrated water reuse treatment plant model, interactive maps showing water reuse availability and potential, case study and cross-case comparison reports, and a sustainability assessment framework applied to multiple water reuse scenarios. These outputs will be integrated as best practices for community engagement strategies and institutional, state, and local regulatory decision-making processes, including a synthesis of identified barriers and drivers for reuse, and a compendium of national and regional needs for organizational and social factors related to water reuse.

The Water Research Foundation

2 - TAKE DECISIVE ACTION TO ADVANCE ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE AND CIVIL RIGHTS 2.1 - PROMOTE ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE AND CIVIL RIGHTS AT THE FEDERAL, TRIBAL, STATE, AND LOCAL LEVELS 1 - A CLEANER, HEALTHIER ENVIRONMENT 1.2 - PROVIDE FOR CLEAN AND SAFE WATER

66.511 - Office of Research and Development Consolidated Research/Training/Fellowships

Office of Grants and Debarment (OGD) [EPA - HQ]

EPA Office of Research and Development (ORD) [EPA - HQ]

Denver, Colorado United States

City-Wide

NATIONAL PRIORITIES: WATER INNOVATION, SCIENCE, ENGAGEMENT TO ADVANCE WATER REUSE (EPA-G2021-ORD-E1)

Termination This project grant was reported as terminated by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) in July 2025. See All
Amendment Since initial award the End Date has been shortened from 08/31/26 to 05/07/25.