Grantee Research Project Results
User-friendly Design Tools for Sustainable Wastewater Treatment in Rural and Disadvantaged Communities
EPA Grant Number: SU835722Title: User-friendly Design Tools for Sustainable Wastewater Treatment in Rural and Disadvantaged Communities
Investigators: Gude, Veera Gnaneswar
Current Investigators: Gude, Veera Gnaneswar , Martinez-Guerra, Edith , Fast, Sara Ann , Lee, Gordon , Jiang, Yi
Institution: Mississippi State University
EPA Project Officer: Hahn, Intaek
Phase: I
Project Period: August 15, 2014 through August 14, 2015
Project Amount: $15,000
RFA: P3 Awards: A National Student Design Competition for Sustainability Focusing on People, Prosperity and the Planet (2014) RFA Text | Recipients Lists
Research Category: Pollution Prevention/Sustainable Development , P3 Challenge Area - Safe and Sustainable Water Resources , P3 Awards , Sustainable and Healthy Communities
Objective:
The objectives of this project are to determine appropriate low-cost and effective nutrient removal alternatives for wastewater treatment for rural and low-income disadvantaged communities in the Mississippi delta and coastal communities. The project will identify existing wastewater treatment facilities and disadvantaged communities and select specific communities for model development and systems analysis for their long-term sustainability. The project team will evaluate the wastewater treatment alternatives available to these communities and will develop web-based design tools for easy assessment of sustainable alternatives.
Approach:
A holistic systems approach will be developed to study the technical, environmental, social and economic feasibility of the proposed low-cost alternatives for nutrient removal. A set of design tools will be developed and will be made available to the public on a designated website. These simple design tools will be developed by incorporating site-specific data from GIS models and techno-economic/lifecycle assessment from ExtendSim® and GPS-X® software programs. Interactions between the communities, environmental/water resource systems and low-cost engineered systems will be considered to provide optimum solutions for site-specific and community-specific conditions.
Expected Results:
Expected outcomes from this project will include (1) a compilation of existing knowledge applicable for nutrient removal to include specific design criteria required for their implementation, O&M, and economic, human health and environmental impacts; and (2) a Website for clearinghouse information with simple user-friendly design tools will consist of links to surveys on case studies, FAQs (frequently asked questions), technical briefs on specific wastewater types, treatment, required quality for reuse, technologies (starting with domestic – remote, outside city or county limits, municipal level), public acceptance/opinion, summary documents with brief research and information on different wastewater treatment and water reuse projects and references will be provided.
Publications and Presentations:
Publications have been submitted on this project: View all 1 publications for this projectJournal Articles:
Journal Articles have been submitted on this project: View all 1 journal articles for this projectSupplemental Keywords:
Disadvantaged communities, design tools, wastewater treatment, sustainable communities, and water reuseProgress and Final Reports:
The perspectives, information and conclusions conveyed in research project abstracts, progress reports, final reports, journal abstracts and journal publications convey the viewpoints of the principal investigator and may not represent the views and policies of ORD and EPA. Conclusions drawn by the principal investigators have not been reviewed by the Agency.