Grantee Research Project Results

2023 Progress Report: Community-based Research to Address Cumulative Health Effects of Drought on Rural Communities Who Operate Drinking Water Aqueducts in Puerto Rico

EPA Grant Number: R840476
Title: Community-based Research to Address Cumulative Health Effects of Drought on Rural Communities Who Operate Drinking Water Aqueducts in Puerto Rico
Investigators: Cortes, Leslie Maas , Ramirez, Graciela , Figueroa, Omar Perez , Levine, Jay , Bowden, Jared
Institution: Puerto Rico Science, Technology and Research Trust , Inter American University of Puerto Rico, Central Campus , North Carolina State University
EPA Project Officer: Hahn, Intaek
Project Period: February 1, 2023 through May 12, 2025
Project Period Covered by this Report: January 1, 2023 through December 31,2023
Project Amount: $1,349,990
RFA: Cumulative Health Impacts at the Intersection of Climate Change, Environmental Justice, and Vulnerable Populations/Lifestages: Community-Based Research for Solutions (2021) RFA Text |  Recipients Lists
Research Category: Watersheds , Endocrine Disruptors , Environmental Justice , Human Health

Objective:

The overarching goal of this research is to engage small communities that are reliant on small water supply systems and empower them to identify strategies that sustain water quality, quantity, and accessibility and provide resilient continuous access to potable water. This project will provide an opportunity to better understand the challenges and problems climate variability and change pose to water distribution and quality that might impact public health through waterborne diseases. Specific objectives include: (1) Understand how climate change may impact the risk of drought in communities reliant on small potable water service systems; (2) Estimate the potential risk to SWSS system dependent families posed by waterborne enteric pathogens; (3) Measure the incidence of enteric illness in SWSS dependent communities; and (4) To develop a community engagement program to promote resilience and capacity to respond to climate change and other stressors.

Progress Summary:

The teams (community engagement, microbiology/epidemiology, and climate science) are in the recruiting, capacity building and planning faces of the work. The implementation of the research phase will commence as soon as IRB approval is granted from Inter Americana University and the EPA IRB. One outcome to report to date has been the community engagement work to solidify the formation of the project’s Community Advisory Council (CAC). This group will work hand in hand with project investigators and staff towards codevelopment, co-implementation, and co-analyses. They will provide valuable input throughout this research implementation process, including interpretation of data and development of strategies for resilience for water security for their small water systems during drought. Outputs related to the establishment of the CAC outcome are community visits to elect the CAC member, the contract for the CAC member to be paid for their services and input, preliminary review of data collection instruments by the CAC and CAC’s perspective on needs of small water systems.

Additionally, important stakeholders have been identified and invited to participate such as COCORAHs Network for Puerto Rico, the National Weather Service, RCAP, NRWA and Puerto Rico’s newly funded initiative on environmental justice, Project Eagle. Besides, the research expected outcomes include capacity building via engagement with stakeholders, water quality and quantity risk assessments, and community-led solutions to improve human health and compliance with EPA standards. 

Future Activities:

It is anticipated that IRB approval from the Inter Americana University will happen during the month of May 2024, and the EPA IRB approval will closely follow. The Puerto Rico Science, Technology and Research Trust’s IRB approval from Ponce Health Sciences University has been included in the appendix of this report. For the upcoming reporting period, the continuation of community-based research is anticipated, marked by monthly meetings with members of the CAC. Efforts will focus on starting semi-structured interviews and guided observations to initiate qualitative data analysis phase. Virtual community of practice workshops utilizing the ECHO (Extension for Community Health Outcomes) methodology will begin to promote among leaders of the twelve participating small water systems.

            The initiation of household water sample collection is expected, with data collection of pathogenic microorganisms in the twelve participating communities. This will be complemented by self-reported health surveys for the presence of diarrheal disease among individuals in the households and the collection of specimens from individuals presenting with illness. The deployment of meteorological weather stations is anticipated. These stations will be periodically relocated throughout the twelve communities to gather data on parameters such as wind (speed, direction, gust), air temperature, black globe temperature, relative humidity, vapor pressure, barometric pressure, solar radiation, precipitation, soil moisture, and soil temperature. There will also be a training for community members on the use of rain gauges, participation in the CoCoRahs network for precipitation monitoring and on all-weather sensors. It is expected both activities will occur within the next six months. A visit from the climate science team is planned for May of 2024.

Journal Articles:

No journal articles submitted with this report: View all 2 publications for this project

Supplemental Keywords:

drought, water, climate change, islands, community-based participatory research

Progress and Final Reports:

Original Abstract

2024

Final