Continuing its commitment to improve America’s drinking water, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency awarded a grant to CU-Boulder to create a national center for research and innovation in small- to medium-sized drinking water systems.
CU-Boulder received more than $4 million to launch the Design of Risk Reducing, Innovative Implementable Small System Knowledge (DeRISK) Center led by R. Scott Summers, professor of civil, environmental and architectural engineering. The center is housed at CU-Boulder in conjunction with the University of New Hampshire, the Rural Community Assistance Partnership, the University of Alaska at Anchorage and Arizona State University, as well as partners from state and local government agencies, private sector organizations and the Canadian small systems network, RES’EAU-WaterNET.
“The center works with state agencies to develop methods to facilitate the approval and implementation of new systems,” says Summers. “Sustainable and innovative technologies have great potential but often face regulatory hurdles simply because they’re so new.”
“Big cities have the resources to hire specialized personnel to their staffs or to turn to external experts for assistance,” he says. “Small systems often do not have that capacity to implement, operate and maintain the necessary improvements.”
The center’s research also focuses on the development and application of photon-based treatment and novel biotreatment systems that sustainably control microbial contaminants, reduce nitrates and minimize disinfection byproducts that may pose health risks. In addition, distribution system technologies are being developed with the goal of better understanding the systems to reduce risk at the most problematic locations.
“Providing cost-effective solutions to help these systems deliver safe, high-quality drinking water improves the health, economy and security of our nation’s communities,” says Lek Kadeli, acting assistant administrator for EPA’s Office of Research and Development.
Ninety-seven percent of the nation’s roughly 160,000 public water systems serve fewer than 10,000 people. These drinking water systems face many obstacles including limited resources, aging infrastructure and compliance with Safe Drinking Water Act regulations.