Grantee Research Project Results
2016 Progress Report: Water Infrastructure Sustainability and Health in Alabama’s Black Belt
EPA Grant Number: R834866Title: Water Infrastructure Sustainability and Health in Alabama’s Black Belt
Investigators: Johnson, Pauline , Stauber, Christine , Brown, Joe , Olson, Julie
Institution: The University of Alabama at Birmingham , Georgia State University
EPA Project Officer: Packard, Benjamin H
Project Period: August 1, 2011 through September 30, 2015 (Extended to September 30, 2016)
Project Period Covered by this Report: August 1, 2015 through July 31,2016
Project Amount: $598,739
RFA: Advancing Public Health Protection through Water Infrastructure Sustainability (2009) RFA Text | Recipients Lists
Research Category: Drinking Water , Water
Objective:
Objectives of this study are to: (1) assess public health impacts associated with rural water supply system performance and water quality across a range of small public and private utilities in rural Alabama, (2) conduct a quantitative microbial risk assessment using measured water quality exposure data, (3) identify possible transmission pathways for waterborne pathogens in rural water supply systems, and (4) identify low-cost, practicable risk mitigation strategies to protect public health.
Experimental Approach. Principal Investigators (PIs) conducted a cross-sectional study of 906 households, including household-level water quality and health outcomes (HCGI). Exposures used in the analysis of epidemiological data include piped system attributes (system-level water quality data, treatment details), key household variables (e.g., location in system, age of connection, volumetric use data, sanitation system data, household-level water quality data), and quantitative/qualitative data collected from the householders themselves (perception of water, details on service interruptions, socio-economic data). Water quality data are be used in quantitative microbial risk assessment (QMRA) models and compared with epidemiological data. Transmission pathways for waterborne pathogens will be assessed through QMRA modeling and microbial source tracking together with an assessment of system-level risks to water quality.
Progress Summary:
Progress to Date. PIs obtained approval for their QAPP; obtained IRB approval from the University of Alabama and Georgia State University; created a field laboratory for the processing of samples and as the operational base for field data collection; trained data collection assistants; refined methods for pathogen sampling, storage, and processing; refined methods and established a library for the proposed microbial source tracking of Escherichia coli isolates; established communication and coordination with partners, including operators, water boards, the Alabama Department of Public Health, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and local nonprofit organizations; obtained maps and system information from operators; concluded household-level water quality and survey data collection; refined methods for pathogen sampling, storage, and processing; liaised with and formally met with each water supply system in our study (14 in all); completed system-level sampling using dead-end ultrafiltration for indicator and molecular work; constructed stochastic QMRA models; validated methods for molecular work; completed analysis of epidemiological data; completed molecular analysis of all samples for waterborne pathogens via multiplex RT-PCR; and used molecular and cell-culture pathogen and indicator data to populate quantitative risk estimates for 12 water supplies.
Results. Household reported water service conditions such as intermittent service, low water pressure, poor taste, odor and odd color were examined to determine if there were associations with reported health symptoms. Households that reported poor service conditions such as experiencing intermittent service also were more likely to report any gastrointestinal symptoms as well as individual symptoms such as diarrhea or vomiting. Similar associations were found for households that reported low water pressure, poor taste and odor as well as water with an odd color. In addition to reported water service conditions, we examined associations between bacterial contamination and health symptoms and sanitation conditions and health symptoms but found no significant associations. System-level water quality data indicate that temporal heterogeneity may dominate variability in microbial indicators (over spatial), suggesting benefits of longitudinal monitoring in small systems to understand risks to consumers. Pathogen analysis suggests limited presence of Shigella, Salmonella and Cryptosporidium that may exceed de minimis risk guideline values for exposure, though the sample size (15 positive pathogen hits out of 360 samples) is too limited to examine possible associations between other measured parameters and pathogen exposure in these systems.
Journal Articles on this Report : 3 Displayed | Download in RIS Format
Other project views: | All 12 publications | 3 publications in selected types | All 3 journal articles |
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Stauber CE, Wedgworth JC, Johnson P, Olson JB, Ayers T, Elliott M, Brown J. Associations between self-reported gastrointestinal illness and water system characteristics in community water supplies in rural Alabama: a cross-sectional study. PLoS One 2016;11(1):e0148102. |
R834866 (2015) R834866 (2016) R834866 (Final) |
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Wedgworth JC, Brown J, Johnson P, Olson JB, Elliott M, Forehand R, Stauber CE. Associations between perceptions of drinking water service delivery and measured drinking water quality in rural Alabama. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 2014;11(7):7376-7392. |
R834866 (2014) R834866 (2015) R834866 (2016) R834866 (Final) |
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Wedgworth JC, Brown J, Olson JB, Johnson P, Elliott M, Grammer P, Stauber CE. Temporal heterogeneity of water quality in rural Alabama water supplies. Journal of the American Water Works Association 2015;107(8):E401-E415. |
R834866 (2014) R834866 (2015) R834866 (2016) R834866 (Final) |
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Supplemental Keywords:
Drinking water, health effects, sensitive populations, risk assessment, water supply system, water infrastructureProgress and Final Reports:
Original AbstractThe 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.
Project Research Results
- Final Report
- 2015 Progress Report
- 2014 Progress Report
- 2013 Progress Report
- 2012 Progress Report
- Original Abstract
3 journal articles for this project