A research team at Wayne State University recently received a four-year, $1.57 million grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) for its project, "Water and Health Infrastructure Resilience and Learning."
The project — which includes examining drinking water and public health systems — will provide new insights as to how these systems interact, with a focus on crisis events.
The team will also explore how these systems learn about and adapt to changes and how the public engages with these systems.
Shawn McElmurry, Ph.D., associate professor of civil and environmental engineering in the College of Engineering, and Matthew Seeger, Ph.D., professor of communications and dean of the College of Fine, Performing and Communication Arts, will lead the multi-institutional team.
"This project builds on previous work conducted in Wayne County and Flint, Michigan," said Seeger.
This grant will allow us to extend that understanding."
The project also aims to understand how tightly coupled interdependent systems such as water and public health can help enhance resilience.
It will also include a national survey to understand how well water and public health infrastructures can adapt to future challenges.
"Our multidisciplinary team gives us the ability to study these systems from multiple perspectives," said McElmurry.
"We learned the value of this in Flint, where changes in water quality impacted more than just the water distribution system.

(Reuters Health) – Drinking water violations may be more common in U.S. counties with greater numbers of minorities, low-income families, and uninsured households, a new report suggests.
More efforts are needed to ensure everyone in the U.S. has access to safe drinking water, the authors say.
“The Flint Water Crisis demonstrated that while the United States has one of the safest drinking water supplies in the world, there are problems.
McDonald is with the Peabody College at Vanderbilt University in Nashville and Jones is with the University of Missouri in Columbia.
They also analyzed demographic data from the American Community Survey.
McDonald and Jones say they excluded Indian reservations and U.S. territories because in those communities, the historical injustices that have contributed to water quality, access, and administrative challenges are outside the scope of this study.
The violations were especially problematic in water systems that serve large populations (i.e., 50,000 people or more), McDonald and Jones reported in the American Journal of Public Health.
We should be proactive versus reactive.
On its website, the EPA explains, "The Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) is the federal law that protects public drinking water supplies throughout the nation.
(bit.ly/2IcOe0R) “We need to think globally, act locally about drinking water supplies,” McDonald and Jones said.

DETROIT (September 24, 2018) – A research team at Wayne State University recently received a four-year, $1.57 million grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) for its project, "Water and Health Infrastructure Resilience and Learning."
The project — which includes examining drinking water and public health systems — will provide new insights as to how these systems interact, with a focus on crisis events.
The team will also explore how these systems learn about and adapt to changes and how the public engages with these systems.
The project also includes researchers from the University of Michigan and the University of North Carolina.
"This project builds on previous work conducted in Wayne County and Flint, Michigan," said Seeger.
The project also aims to understand how tightly coupled interdependent systems such as water and public health can help enhance resilience.
It will also include a national survey to understand how well water and public health infrastructures can adapt to future challenges.
Our team includes political scientists, sociologists, disaster researchers, epidemiologists and water engineers, giving us many tools for examining the complexities of water and health systems."
For more information about research at Wayne State University, visit http://www.research.wayne.edu.
by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert system.

Some politicians and environmentalists are urging the state to do more to protect drinking water following a disturbing new report on contamination issues.
A group of GOP lawmakers says that the state’s Drinking Water Quality Council isn’t doing enough to safeguard New York’s drinking water supplies.
They are calling on the council to get back to work in setting standards for harmful contaminants.
The call to action comes as the state comptroller released a water quality report calling on the state to do more to monitor drinking water contaminants.
The state audit raised several concerns.
Environmentalist Adrienne Esposito says toxic chemicals such as 1,4-dioxane, PFOA and PFOS have been discovered in 39 water districts throughout the region.
The chemicals have been linked to cancer and other illnesses.
Gov.
"What we’re saying is that the governor has got to call this commission back to work with the water districts to set proper standards and proper levels so that they can proceed and do their job," said Sen. Carl Marcellino, of Oyster Bay.
The state Health Department issued a statement, which read in part that it remains focused on setting protective maximum contaminant levels for federally unregulated chemicals in drinking water.

Drinking water samples have tested positive for E. coli in Rehoboth Bay Community Mobile Home Park, prompting warnings to residents.
Residents were issued a warning Sept. 22 to boil their water before they drink it, or use bottled water.
Jen Brestel, spokeswoman for the Division of Public Health, said water samples collected came back positive for E. coli.
In a notice obtained by the Cape Gazette, residents were told to boil water before drinking it because a recent water sample contained disease-causing organisms.
“These organisms include bacteria, viruses and parasites, which can cause symptoms such as nausea, cramps, diarrhea, and associated headaches,” the notice read.
People with severely compromised immune systems, infants and some elderly may be at increased risk; general guidelines about drinking water are available at the Environmental Protection Agency’s Safe Drinking Water Hotline at 1-800-426-4791.
The notice stated that management is reviewing the water system and a water treatment system is in place.
“We will continue to test our wells until we have satisfactory results.
We will update you as more information becomes available.
Until you receive a problem corrected notice, please boil your water before using it,” the notice states.

Of the 36 Shuddha drinking water units in the district, many were found to be defunct during inspection.
Zilla Panchayat member Janardhan Gowda, who heads the committee, said some of the 36 units were in a deplorable state.
“Some units continue to face technical problems and the local gram panchayat officers have no information about the units.
There is no proper road access to such units.
Also, the committee members found the units unhygienic.
There is lack of coordination among the officers of the KRIDL (Karnataka Rural Infrastructure Development Limited) and the gram panchayats,” he listed out.
As the contractor failed to maintain the units, the contract was suspended.
The estimate for the pending work is being prepared by officials, he added.
An officer of KRIDL clarified that of the 102 drinking water units, 57 had been commissioned and work on the other 45 units was in progress.
“Each gram panchayat can take up the work on its Shuddha drinking water unit by utilising funds from MGNREGS and the 14th Finance Commission,” said the officer.

The drinking water in more than half of Detroit public schools has unsafe levels of copper and lead, recent testing determined.
The Detroit Public Schools Community District said Wednesday that 57 of 106 schools in the system tested positive for copper and/or lead in drinking water.
Another 17 schools are awaiting results, the Associated Press reported.
The school district initiated the testing last year to "ensure the safety of the students," the Detroit News reported.
"This (testing) was not required by federal, state or city law," the school district said.
"As you know, drinking water in these schools was discontinued as we await water test results for all schools.
Although the kitchen water has only been turned off in schools where levels were determined high, we have been using bottled water to clean food in all schools," Detroit Superintendent Nikolai Vitti told the Detroit News.
(MORE: Michigan Official to Stand Trial for Deaths in Flint Water Crisis) The results at the Detroit schools come on the heels of a lead-tainted water crisis in Flint, Michigan, located some 70 miles to the northwest.
Numerous children became ill after the city failed to properly treat corrosive river water in 2014 and 2015, allowing lead in old pipes to contaminate the water in homes and businesses.
The Weather Company’s primary journalistic mission is to report on breaking weather news, the environment and the importance of science to our lives.

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In the latest round of test results released Wednesday, an additional 33 schools in the Detroit Public Schools Community District showed elevated levels for one or both of the contaminants.
The district is still waiting for results from 17 schools.
It all started after water testing in the spring found higher-than-acceptable levels of copper and/or lead.
By August, 34 total schools had confirmed water quality issues.
The district started the school year in September by shutting off drinking water access to all 106 school buildings, providing bottled water and water coolers as substitutes.
The superintendent, the Great Lakes Water Authority and Detroit Water and Sewage Department have said the school district’s aging infrastructure is likely to blame for the issues.
The Detroit Public Schools Community District is recommending to the board that it install hydration stations across the district for the start of next school year.

Irish Water has initiated a major project to secure drinking water supply in the Greater Dublin Area by linking the Leixlip Water Treatment Plant with the Saggart Reservoirs.
The work will result in greater connectivity between water supplies so Irish Water can access different sources at different times of the year and during extreme weather events to help ensure a more secure and resilient water supply.
Irish Water is investing over €35 million in the Leixlip to Saggart Water Main Project, which will involve the construction of a 6.8km pipeline and pumping station.
Irish Water engineer William McKnight said “The size and scale of this project is really significant and is of real strategic importance to Greater Dublin Area.
"Once completed, the new pipeline will increase Irish Water’s ability to distribute treated drinking water in the Greater Dublin Area and the surrounding region.
"This is a huge advantage to consumers and Irish Water, particularly during extreme weather events, likes the storms last winter or the drought this summer.
It will increase the security of the water supply for homes and businesses alike.”

Chennai: With threat of water scarcity looming large in parts of the city where there is no piped-water supply, the Chennai Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board (CMWSSB) officials are yet to decide on increasing the number of water tankers.
Residents have urged the metro water board to increase supply of drinking water.
Sources said several areas in the city face drinking water shortage and people, holding pots, are found waiting for tanker lorries.
At present, the CMWSSB is operating more than 700 contractual lorries across the city.
Going by the present scenario, the number of tankers is not enough to meet the growing demand for drinking water.
“We are spending sleepless nights and we need to wait for even two to three days to get water.
Unlike in the past, water tankers are not properly operated during day time.
Similarly, another resident said, “We are sometimes forced to buy water.
Before onset of monsoon, drinking water is always in demand and we will give priority to those who book online for water.” When contacted, a metro water senior official told DC, “As of now, there is no acute water scarcity and we do not plan to increase the fleet of tankers.
We supply 630 MLD of water and have enough storage in lakes with other sources from Veeranam lake and two desalination plants.”