Grantee Research Project Results
Final Report: Community Water Quality Information System for a New and Sustainable Water Supply
EPA Grant Number: R828576Title: Community Water Quality Information System for a New and Sustainable Water Supply
Investigators: Pearthree, Marie S. , Davis, Stephen E. , McGuire, Michael J. , Wierenga, Peter J. , Pepper, Ian L. , Rosen, Jeffrey S. , MacNeill, Elizabeth , Johnson, Freda , Chavez, Kathleen , Mariner, Linda , Kotelman, Marleen , Lindsey, Marti , Kaneen, Richard
Institution: City of Tucson, AZ , Pima County Wastewater Management Department , Pima County Health Department , Tucson Unified School District , McGuire Malcolm Pirnie Environmental Consultants , Rillito Consulting Group , Kaneen Advertising & Public Relations, Inc. , Arizona Department of Environmental Quality , University of Arizona , Technology Planning and Management Corporation
Current Institution: City of Tucson, AZ , Arizona Department of Environmental Quality , Kaneen Advertising & Public Relations, Inc. , McGuire Malcolm Pirnie Environmental Consultants , Pima County Health Department , Pima County Wastewater Management Department , Rillito Consulting Group , Technology Planning and Management Corporation , Tucson Unified School District , University of Arizona
EPA Project Officer: Packard, Benjamin H
Project Period: February 1, 2001 through January 31, 2003 (Extended to January 31, 2005)
Project Amount: $400,000
RFA: Environmental Monitoring for Public Access and Community Tracking (EMPACT) (2000) RFA Text | Recipients Lists
Research Category: Ecological Indicators/Assessment/Restoration , Water , Air
Objective:
The City of Tucson was one of the largest cities in the United States that obtained its drinking water supply solely from groundwater. The City of Tucson Water Department - Tucson Water (TW) is the largest municipal water provider in Southern Arizona, serving a diverse population of approximately 680,000. Groundwater supplies are pumped from several well fields located within the Tucson urbanized area and in Avra Valley to the west. In response to its dependence on groundwater, the City has made concerted efforts to maximize the use of alternative water resources: recycled wastewater and Colorado River water (CRW). To achieve future sustainability, better manage growing groundwater depletion and subsidence issues, and driven by state statute, Tucson Water turned to supplementing its groundwater supply with CRW received via the Central Arizona Project (CAP) in 1992. This project developed time-relevant methods of water resource data collection and reported the findings to Tucson-area consumers. Tucson’s water supply and the public’s perception of it have a significant impact on the economic and environmental health of the Tucson metropolitan area. The first attempt in 1992 to assure a future water supply, bringing CRW to Tucson through the CAP, failed because the treated water quality was not acceptable to the public. This project assisted TW in reintroducing a blend of recharged CRW and native groundwater by implementing online monitoring technologies and customer response capabilities not available when CRW was first introduced to place water resources data in the hands of all TW consumers. This effort allows consumers to participate in the decisionmaking process with respect to acceptable household water quality and consumptive choices. There were three overall objectives for this project. The first objective was to increase the number of water quality parameters being measured, implement a continuous online sampling and monitoring system of the quality of the blended CRW at the source and in the potable distribution system, and implement a continuous online sampling and monitoring system of the quantity and general quality of recycled wastewater and secondary effluent discharged to the Santa Cruz River plus expand the monitoring technology to include new technology for measuring total trihalomethanes (THM). The second objective was to improve the time relevancy of access to water quality data in the potable distribution system, develop methods of transmitting and verifying the quality of the data, and provide the data in near real-time to the public. The third objective was to provide more individualized information for customers by identifying specific constituencies such as Hispanic, Native American, and medical communities, soliciting their feedback and creating methods to individualize data by location. The individualized information would create a context for understanding water resource data, thus removing misconceptions, and also serve as a source of reliable, authoritative information on emerging water quality issues.
Summary/Accomplishments (Outputs/Outcomes):
Due to the negative reaction of TW customers to the introduction of directly treated CRW in1992, an innovative approach had to be created to reintroduce CRW to the community as an acceptable water supply. At the same time, the confidence of customers and the community had to be regained so that future water quality and supply issues would be supported.
In 2001, TW was awarded a $400,000 grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to develop a community oriented water quality information and education program. TW collaborates with the University of Arizona, county and state agencies, water quality and conservation groups, local schools and stakeholder groups, and private agencies to provide water quality and related information to the community. The information provided by the Environmental Monitoring for Public Access and Community Tracking (EMPACT) team focuses on water resources and drinking water quality monitoring, management and access to information, which is vital to the environmental protection, economic growth, public health and confidence of the Tucson community. The TW project has three major objectives that must be met under the Federal guidelines and all three objectives share one common thread – increase the level of effort in environmental monitoring, public access and community tracking.
TW’s primary goal was to aid the utility in reintroducing CRW as a new and sustainable drinking water supply to the community. The second goal was to build this project on two past successful water quality outreach programs: the “At The Tap” (ATT) program and the “Ambassador Neighborhoods Program” (ANP). The ATT program focused on providing timely drinking water quality information using multiple avenues to the community at large. The ANP program focused on the preliminary introduction of recharged CRW blended with native groundwater to the community through a collaborative utility and community demonstration project. To accomplish these two goals, the EMPACT team used the successful outcomes and lessons learned from the ATT and the ANP programs as the basis for developing the community oriented water quality information system. The purpose of the new information system is to keep the public informed on a daily basis of the quality of the drinking water at the tap in their homes and businesses, so that they can make informed consumptive decisions. With a focused community outreach effort, multiple communication avenues were investigated and explored on how best to reach the Hispanic, Native American, and medical communities and the community at large.
In May 2001, TW began adding recharged CRW blended with native groundwater to the central potable distribution system through the Clearwater Renewable Resource Facility. There was concern within the utility that this new resource would cause major water quality changes similar to what had occurred in 1992 when directly treated CRW was first introduced to the community. To date, the drinking water quality in the central distribution system remains similar to our native groundwater. Once the quality of the drinking water stabilized, the team began developing communication avenues to reach more of the community with water quality information by identifying two questions they were asking: “What is the quality of our drinking water?” and “Why is it important to me and my family?” To find the answers to these questions, the team looked at past water quality concerns expressed by the community and was able to identify several broad areas of concern that included emerging water quality issues, public health issues, home appliances, pool and spa maintenance, pet health, and water resource quality. In 2001, the team surveyed the community and identified six primary drinking water quality concerns: sodium, hardness, total dissolved solids (TDS), pH, chlorine, and bacteria. In addition, five other concerns were identified through the survey: nitrate as nitrogen, fluoride, THM, temperature, and groundwater contamination. In addition, other survey results were used as a basis to address additional community concerns, such as taste of the tap water, methods of communication, safety of the water, and future water supplies. With this information the team began formulating a plan to merge the project’s objectives with the community’s water quality information needs by creating a comprehensive communication action plan to effectively address multiple aspects of reaching specific community groups.
At the end of these four years the EMPACT team has successfully created a community oriented water quality information system based on the three primary objectives of EPA’s national EMPACT program. TW’s customers and the community as a whole have benefited from this collaborative effort. With this new information system in place the community is better informed on water quality and quantity issues on a daily basis, which was not available prior to 2001. A solid foundation has been laid through this project to continue informing the community as new water quality and quantity issues appear on the horizon. The community partnerships that were forged through this project remain in place and are a vital resource for the longevity of this new program. Many creative ideas were used to make the project a success, such as providing water quality data on a daily basis and creating successful partnerships with diverse community groups. The diverse nature of this project has been one of the strengths because it provided the opportunity to receive input from many different perspectives, which was useful in creating cohesive messages and information for the public. It also provided the opportunity to demonstrate that diverse community groups can work together to address a common community issue. The project reinforced the importance of involving community stakeholders and listening to what they had to say in trying to reach them successfully. It also provided lessons on partnering, such as establishing mutual goals and leveraging resources to strengthen the partnerships and keep them fresh and viable for the long term. Maintaining the newly established community oriented water quality information system, which is fluid, flexible and always evolving, will only enhance the usefulness of this new communication system for the long term.
The next step for this EMPACT project is to transition the project into a sustainable program for the long term. The EMPACT Water Info Now Program will continue to use new and existing collaborations and develop multiple and creative methods to continue the dialogue that has been established with the Tucson community about present and future water quality and quantity issues. All the lessons learned will be used to further develop the EMPACT Water Info Now Program into a robust and effective community oriented communications tool.
Journal Articles:
No journal articles submitted with this report: View all 77 publications for this projectSupplemental Keywords:
drinking water, water, Colorado River, potable, renewable, EMPACT, partner, community, surveys, quality, Clearwater, agua, parameter, distribution,, RFA, Scientific Discipline, Health, Geographic Area, Water, Ecosystem Protection/Environmental Exposure & Risk, POLLUTANTS/TOXICS, Environmental Chemistry, Health Risk Assessment, State, Arsenic, Monitoring/Modeling, Susceptibility/Sensitive Population/Genetic Susceptibility, Environmental Monitoring, genetic susceptability, Water Pollutants, Drinking Water, EPA Region, EMPACT, Region 9, monitoring, disinfection byproducts, sensitive populations, community-based approach, disinfection by-products, health risks, exposure and effects, public information, ethnic, exposure, other - risk assessment, water supply, community water quality information system, Arizona (AZ), treatment, community outreach, water quality, outreach and education, dietary exposure, DBP exposure, groundwater, information management, real-time monitoringRelevant Websites:
http://www.cityoftucson.org/water Exit
http://www.adeq.state.az.us/environ/water/compliance/dca.html Exit
http://www.tusd.k12.az.us Exit
http://www.ag.arizona.edu/AZWATER/
http://coep.pharmacy.arizona.edu/ Exit
http://www.co.pima.az.us/health/epirpt.htm Exit
http://www.pima.gov/wwm/ Exit
http://wqc.arizona.edu Exit
http://www.cityoftucson.org/dnr/ Exit
http://www.lib.ci.tucson.az.us Exit
Progress 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.