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AN OVERVIEW OF THE U.S. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY'S SMALL SYSTEMS RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT CENTER AT THE EPA TEST AND EVALUATION FACILITY IN CINCINNATI, OHIO
Citation:
Haught*, R C., J A. Goodrich*, AND F L. Evans* III. AN OVERVIEW OF THE U.S. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY'S SMALL SYSTEMS RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT CENTER AT THE EPA TEST AND EVALUATION FACILITY IN CINCINNATI, OHIO. Presented at U.S. EPA Science Fair, Washington, D.C, 05/01-03/2002.
Description:
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA) landmark Safe Drinking Water Act Amendments of 1996 promised to bring and provide safe drinking water to all Americans. Since that time many have not understood or appreciated EPA involvement in the research and development (R&D) and evaluation of drinking water technologies. To support and help in the struggle to improve the quality of drinking water in the United States and abroad (Europe, China, and South America) the EPA Water Supply and Water Resources Division (WSWRD) utilizes the U.S. EPA Test and Evaluation (T&E) Facility located in Cincinnati, Ohio. The T&E Facility is a multifaceted research resource in which a wide variety of water and waste treatment and other environmental protection technologies are conceived, designed, and evaluated in the laboratory and pilot plant scale.
The research and development opportunities of the T&E Facility are accessible to private clients, academic institutions, and other government agencies for diverse R&D studies including distribution system simulator (DSS) and package plant treatment studies and/or technology development. The facility is also available to public and private clients from all sectors either through a third-party contract agreement with the on-site contractor or via a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) with the U.S. EPA. The principal requirement for research to be conducted at the T&E Facility is that it be within the scope and mission of the U.S. EPA's National Risk Management Research Laboratory (NRMRL).
To satisfy agency requirements the T&E Facility was originally designed at the time of its inception in 1977 as a municipal/industrial wastewater bench- and pilot-plant research facility. Opened in the Spring of 1979, the T&E Facility was designed to be a continuously changing laboratory, making the facility functionally versatile for future use. The facility is located within the complex of City of Cincinnati Mill Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant on a site provided by the City. A variety of wastewater and water streams are available to the T&E Facility for research purposes. The studies conducted at the Facility promote the development and commercialization of practical and innovative technologies to enhance water treatment and water quality in distribution systems. This is achieved by providing facilities (Table 1) to be utilized by research engineers and scientists within the experimental high-bay work area and laboratories. Physical progressive modifications to the facility have been implemented to accommodate a variety of water quality experimental systems while maintaining the capability for working with media and environmental concerns including hazardous waste and wastewater treatment.