Grantee Research Project Results

2014 Progress Report: Ensuring Safe Drinking Water in Lake Erie: Quantifying Extreme Weather Impacts on Cyanobacteria and Disinfection Byproducts (DPBs)

EPA Grant Number: R835192
Title: Ensuring Safe Drinking Water in Lake Erie: Quantifying Extreme Weather Impacts on Cyanobacteria and Disinfection Byproducts (DPBs)
Investigators: Lee, Jiyoung , Shum, C.K. , Liang, Song
Institution: The Ohio State University
EPA Project Officer: Packard, Benjamin H
Project Period: June 1, 2012 through May 31, 2016
Project Period Covered by this Report: August 22, 2014 through August 21,2015
Project Amount: $748,902
RFA: Extreme Event Impacts on Air Quality and Water Quality with a Changing Global Climate (2011) RFA Text | Recipients Lists
Research Category: Air Quality and Air Toxics , Water Quality , Water , Air , Climate Change

Objective:

Our scientific objectives are: (1) the assessment of the link between historic and current extreme weather events and water quality indicators using satellite and field work data, including water color, temperature, turbidity, precipitation, water level, and ice/snow/flood extents; (2) improved understanding of the links between extreme weather events and the source and finished water quality including cyanobacteria densities, cyanotoxins, DBPs, and nutrient concentrations; and (3) the modeling and prediction of adverse impacts to source and finished water to understand the future impact of climate-change induced extreme weather events on water safety in Lake Erie.

Progress Summary:

We initiated an innovative interdisciplinary approach using historic and current satellite remote sensing and geodetic data, molecular microbiology tools for comprehensive understanding cyanobacterial dynamics and its influence on drinking water quality in Lake Erie region. During the third project year, we performed two main tasks: (1) we analyzed historical data (from 2002 to 2012) of harmful algal blooms (HABs) in Lake Erie in order to examine temporal variability and environmental drivers; (2) we performed laboratory measurements of the collected water samples (toxin, DBPs, molecular detection of toxin-producing cyanobacteria, etc) and satellite images of the source water in Lake Erie; and (3) we conducted extensive statistical analyses of the collected parameters.

Future Activities:

Data analysis
Continued discussion and project meetings
Publications and presentations

Journal Articles:

No journal articles submitted with this report: View all 13 publications for this project

Supplemental Keywords:

Drinking water, global climate change, disinfection byproducts, microcystin, limnology, geodesy, environmental microbiology, satellite remote sensing, empirical modeling, harmful algal bloom, Great Lakes, Lake Erie, Ohio, OH

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.