Grantee Research Project Results

2014 Progress Report: Point Of Use (POU) Water Treatment Systems For Improving Sustainability And Environmental Justice in Colonias of the Paso del Norte Region

EPA Grant Number: R835179
Title: Point Of Use (POU) Water Treatment Systems For Improving Sustainability And Environmental Justice in Colonias of the Paso del Norte Region
Investigators: Walker, W. Shane , Palacios, Rebecca L. , Santiago, Ivonne , Tomaka, Joe , Walton, John
Institution: The University of Texas at El Paso , New Mexico State University - Main Campus
EPA Project Officer: Page, Angela
Project Period: December 1, 2011 through November 30, 2016
Project Period Covered by this Report: December 1, 2013 through November 30,2014
Project Amount: $498,906
RFA: Research and Demonstration of Innovative Drinking Water Treatment Technologies in Small Systems (2011) RFA Text | Recipients Lists
Research Category: Drinking Water , Water

Objective:

The objectives of this project are to: perform community-based participatory research (CBPR) through Water and POU Perception and Use Inventory surveys of residents in up to 12 colonias of the Paso del Norte region; design and test POU systems for specific water contaminants of these colonias; implement select POU systems in more than 100 homes across at least three colonias; and evaluate the sustainability of the use of POU technologies with respect to environmental, social/user, and economic metrics.

Progress Summary:

Phase 1 – Colonia Selection and Engagement - Completed

Task 1 - IRB and QAPP Approvals: Completed (included in previous report)
Task 2 - Selection of Colonias for Engagement: Completed (included in previous report)
Task 3 - Focus Group Surveys and Discussions: Completed (included in previous report)

Phase 2 – POU Screening

Task 1 - POU Review and Selection: Completed (included in previous report)
Task 2 - Water Sampling and Quality Analysis: Completed (included in previous report)
Task 3 - Laboratory Testing of POU Treatment Systems: Ongoing
Tests will be performed with POU systems to confirm manufacturers' claims regarding flow rates and compare several commercially available water treatment systems with POUs implemented in Phase 3.

Phase 3 – Implementation

Task 1 - POU Implementation: Ongoing
A 12-month no-cost extension was requested on September 30, 2014, to complete this work, and the request was approved by NCER on February 17, 2015. The research protocol to engage human subjects in controlled exposure to drinking water from commercially available point of use drinking water filters has been approved by UTEP IRB and EPA NCER IRB. (EPA NCER IRB explicitly forbids controlled exposure research in households with children, pregnant women, or nursing women.)
Task 2 - Water Sampling and Quality Analysis: Ongoing
Source water and drinking water samples will be collected at each household and analyzed for water quality parameters such as pH, total dissolved solids, conductivity, major ion composition by ion chromatography, coliforms and E. coli.

Phase 4 – Evaluations

Task 1 - POU Evaluations: Ongoing
An extensive survey of water quantity, quality, use, and perception has been prepared. Households will be surveyed before and after receiving point of use water treatment systems to evaluate the effectiveness of the POUs.
Task 2 - Sustainability Evaluation: Ongoing
Aspects of economic sustainability will include factors such as cost-avoidance, payback period, and cost per unit volume. Environmental sustainability will be evaluated by comparing life cycle indicators.
Task 3 - Reporting: Ongoing
One journal manuscript has been accepted for publication, and several other manuscripts are in preparation.

Future Activities:

Year 4 will include completion of the implementation (Phase 3) and evaluation (Phase 4) portions of this study.

Journal Articles:

No journal articles submitted with this report: View all 10 publications for this project

Supplemental Keywords:

drinking water, small systems, colonias, hauled water, groundwater, point of use treatment, POU treatment, membrane filtration;

Progress and Final Reports:

Original Abstract

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.