Dr. Patrick McNamara is an associate professor of Environmental Engineering at Marquette University and a Wastewater Process Engineer with Black & Veatch. He has over 15 years experience in wastewater solids and residuals management, and his research group has investigated emerging contaminants for a decade. His work is funded by the National Science Foundation, utilities, companies, and foundations. He has over 60 peer-reviewed journal publications.

Abstract

Pyrolysis for the removal of PFAS from biosolids.

PFAS in biosolids has resulted in Maine banning land application of biosolids. Other states are considering restrictions on land application as well due to PFAS. As a result, interest in thermal treatment processes have recently grown. Pyrolysis is a thermal treatment process that converts biosolids into biochar, pyrolysis-liquid, and pyrolysis-gas. This presentation will cover the benefits and drawbacks of these products as well as an in-depth analysis of experimental work that investigated removal and transformation of PFAS during pyrolysis of biosolids.

Dr. Brooke Mayer is an Associate Professor in the Department of Civil, Construction and Environmental Engineering at Marquette University.  She graduated from the Environmental Engineering program at Arizona State University (B.S. – 2004, M.S. – 2006, Ph.D. – 2008), where she taught from 2008 – 2012.  Her research and teaching interests focus on physical/chemical water treatment, particularly microbial disinfection and nutrient recovery.

Dr. Thomas Speth is the Associate Director for Science for the USEPA’s Center for Environmental Solutions and Emergency Response where he is leading efforts on PFAS, lead, and small water systems.  He is a Professional Engineer who has worked in the field of water-treatment research at the USEPA since 1986.  Over his career, Dr. Speth has been active in numerous organizations such as the American Water Works Association and the Water Research Foundation where he has served as Trustee, Chair, and EPA Liaison on numerous divisions, committees, and advisory boards.

Abstract

Removing PFAS from Drinking Water: Performance, Cost, and Management of Residual Streams

Treatment performance and cost data are needed for compounds that go through USEPA’s drinking water regulatory process. This is done to demonstrate that a contaminant can be removed at a reasonable cost. Currently, the USEPA is collecting and generating such data for PFAS for which the USEPA may decide to set a drinking water regulation. This work includes evaluating the cost of managing residual streams which is often an important issue for many water utilities.

Donald Ryan is a PhD Candidate in the Water Quality Center at Marquette University. Throughout his time at Marquette, his research has centered on the intersection of environmental chemistry and drinking water engineering. His previous research has focused on advanced treatment technology for pharmaceuticals in addition to disinfection byproducts from drinking water treatment. His current research focuses on electrochemical water treatment for PFAS mitigation and the role of natural water characteristics, such as dissolved organic matter on engineered processes. 

Abstract

Electrochemical Water Treatment Technologies for PFAS mitigation in Water and Wastewater

This presentation will discuss electrocoagulation and electrooxidation as water and wastewater treatment processes to remove PFAS. This talk will provide general introductory information on electrocoagulation and electrooxidation and the impact of water quality characteristics for improving system performance.

Anne Sun obtained her PhD degree in Civil and Environmental Engineering from University of California, Irvine. Her research is aligned with the overarching goal of creating engineering solutions and strategies to improve the sustainability of wastewater infrastructures faced with emerging challenges, such as climate uncertainties and rapid urbanization. For her PhD thesis, Sun focuses on the abundance and fate of microplastics in wastewater and the enhancement of its removal from wastewater for reclamation purposes. Previously, she also worked on developing decision support tools for the assessment and improvement of wastewater treatment systems.

Abstract

Fate and removal of microplastics from wastewater 

Microplastics are a rising concern in wastewater treatment and water reclamation. Water resource reclamation facilities (WRRFs) can serve as both a barrier and an avenue for microplastics to enter the environment. In this study, the abundance of microplastics at each treatment stage was monitored on a monthly basis for six months in a WRRF in southern California. Microplastics samples were characterized based on their morphology, size, as well as polymer type. The abundance of microplastics was 20% higher in winter than summer in both influent and effluent, potentially related to type of fabric in laundry in different seasons as well as the aging of tertiary filters. Polyester fibers, accounting for more than 70% of the total microplastics on average, were found to be the most abundant type of microplastics at all stages sampled. In addition, mini-hydrocyclones (MHCs), previously applied to separate mediums of different phases, were customized and 3D printed with stainless steel as an alternative to separate microplastics from various wastewater matrices. 

Dr. Scott Keely is an EPA microbiologist and has 30 years of research experience in infectious diseases and molecular genetics. His EPA research is highly collaborative and responsive to contemporary public health crises including antimicrobial resistance in graywater, wastewater, and surface waters; and wastewater-based monitoring of human enteric viruses and recently SARS-CoV-2. Dr. Keely is a member of EPA’s COVID-19 emergency response team that is monitoring SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern in US sewersheds. Dr. Keely received his PhD in an interdisciplinary molecular genetics, biochemistry and microbiology program from the College of Medicine, University of Cincinnati.

Abstract

National scale studies aid our understanding of the drivers of antimicrobial resistance genes in US waters

The discovery of antimicrobials some 80 years ago ushered in a new era of reduced morbidity and mortality due to human infections. In recent years, however, there has been a tradeoff between the benefits of these drugs and their overuse, which has contributed to the evolution of antimicrobial resistance genes (ARG) and increased spread of antimicrobial resistance (AR) bacterial infections in human and animals. The unfortunate spread of ARG has resulted in 2.8 million individuals developing AR infections annually, resulting in 35000 deaths in the US. Not surprisingly, there is also increased spread of AR in the environment that is largely driven by urbanization and agriculture, which may lead to exacerbations in the annual rate of human and animal AR infections. Rivers and streams near wastewater treatment plants, animal feeding operations, or sources of manure and municipal biosolids exhibit elevated ARGs. To better understand the distribution of ARGs in US waters, we used a stratified, probabilistic survey of nearly 2,000 sites that represents 1.2 million kilometers of rivers and streams. Using standardized field methods, field crews collected river and stream environmental samples over the course of 2 years to collect information on key indicators of biological, chemical, and physical condition. We measured the quantities of the class I integron Integrase gene (intI1), several ARGs (e.g. sul1, blaTEM and tetW) and two fecal bacteria indicators using droplet digital PCR. We observed striking geographical patterns for these genes, which were typically higher in eastern regions than western regions. Fecal pollution was associated with the distribution of tetW; urbanization, watershed condition, and outpatient prescription rates were associated with intI1 and sul1. These results suggest that environmental drivers, overuse of antimicrobials, and pollution influence the concentrations of ARGs in US waters. This study is the first of a series of national surveys to monitor ARGs in rivers and streams in the US.

Dr. Raseman specializes in the development and application of simulation modeling, statistical analysis, data visualization, and optimization techniques for the water sector. He is the lead software developer for the US EPA Water Treatment Plant Model, which is used to inform the EPA on regulatory decision-making on disinfection byproducts. He is a co-PI on the Water Research Foundation project "Impact of a Haloacetic Acid MCL Revision on DBP Exposure and Health Risk Reduction" and has served as adjunct faculty at the University of Colorado Boulder.

Abstract

Toxicity-Weighted Risks of Unregulated DBPs: HAAs and Beyond

Although unregulated DBPs are observed in lower concentrations than regulated DBPs, literature suggests that many unregulated groups have orders of magnitude higher toxicity with potential public health implications. The results from toxicity literature beg the question: does the current regulatory system for DBPs, which focuses on mass concentration of HAA5 and TTHM, mitigate toxicity-weighted exposure risk? Likewise, would a change from an HAA5 to an HAA9 regulation provide meaningfully improved protection of public health with respect to a broad range of potential DBPs? We will discuss a toxicity-weighted analysis to answer those questions and discussion opportunities and pitfalls for toxicity exposure reduction strategies.

Dr. Carleigh Samson is an Water Process Engineer at Corona Environmental Consulting (Corona) and an Environment Engineering PhD graduate from the University of Colorado Boulder with an emphasis in source water quality, drinking water treatment processes, statistical modeling and data management.  During her graduate studies, Dr. Samson’s research focused on using statistical modeling to develop relationships between climate, source water quality (i.e. TOC and bromide concentration), and (disinfection byproduct) DBP formation and speciation.  Through her work with Corona, Dr. Samson has led efforts to collect and analyze national drinking water quality occurrence data to understand and inform the impacts of regulatory updates.

Abstract

Looking Ahead: Identifying Drinking Water Contaminants of Concern for the Next 5-10 Years

This presentation summarizes an effort conducted by Corona Environmental Consulting and funded by the Water Quality Research Foundation to develop a methodology to identify contaminants that are expected to be of the greatest concern for drinking water based. Contaminants were identified based on their likelihood to be present in public drinking water in the US and the potential health risks they pose. Potential future regulatory changes are discussed, including changes to the Microbial and Disinfection Byproduct (MDBP) Rules. Some example contaminants will be presented in further detail, along with some available treatment options.

Dr. Bartelt-Hunt is a Professor and Chair of Civil and Engineering at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. She holds a PhD from the University of Virginia and a BS from Northwestern University. She is also a licensed Professional Engineer. She has been a leader in emerging contaminants research, including seminal work on the fate of estrogenic compounds. She has been funded by the National Science Foundation and several other agencies. 

Abstract

Surface Water Contamination as a consequence of ethanol production. 

The community of Mead, Nebraska, is home to 500 people, as well as a biofuels plant that began generating ethanol using expired seed corn, treated with a number of pesticides as early as 2015. Wastewater and solid waste (distillers grains or wet cake) produced by the plant have been stockpiled near the facility and were land-applied to cropland as recently as 2018. In addition, a broken pipe at the facility in early 2021 released millions of gallons of contaminated water from the production process offsite through a drainage ditch and small stream channel. Preliminary data obtained from sampling the waste materials generated at the facility indicate significant levels of neonicotinoid insecticides, as well as a variety of fungicide residues, are present in the solid waste byproduct and wastewater. The primary objective of this study was to determine the extent of insecticide and fungicide contamination in surface waters downstream and adjacent to the facility. Fourteen parent neonicotinoid and strobilurin fungicide compounds and seven transformation products were monitored by grab and passive sampling over eight months after the wastewater release. Our results show elevated insecticide and fungicide residues, likely originating from wastewater/solid waste application and release, continue to persist and may affect surface water quality in the area.

Dr. Krista Rule Wigginton is an associate professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Michigan. Prior to joining the faculty at UM, she was an assistant professor at the University of Maryland, College Park from 2011-2012. Her research focuses on applications of environmental biotechnology in drinking water and wastewater treatment. In particular, her research group develops new methods to detect and analyze the fate of emerging pollutants in the environment. Dr. Wigginton received her B.S. degree in Chemistry from the University of Idaho, and her M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Environmental Engineering from Virginia Tech. After completing her Ph.D. degree, she worked as a postdoctoral researcher at École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) in Switzerland from 2008-2011.

Abstract

Virus mitigation to protect public health

Abstract: TBD