SOURCE WATER CONTAMINATION RESOURCES

• Are Wildfires Worsening The Water Contamination At Military Bases?

  Sixty-two. This is the number of California military facilities with a known or suspected per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) release, according to the California State Water Resources Control Board.

• Wastewater Nitrogen Is Causing Ecological Havoc, But The Necessary Innovative Solutions Exist

  The water quality damages associated with excessive nitrogen discharges to our surface and groundwaters that result in life-threatening harmful algae blooms (HAB), the loss of shellfish and finfish, and the degradation of our groundwater drinking water aquifers are now ubiquitous in the U.S. and worldwide. Wastewater nitrogen discharges are typically the elephant in the room when the sources of nitrogen are quantified. Septic nitrogen discharges, in particular, are the primary cause of water-quality/ecological degradation in many, especially coastal, areas.

• Plastic Pipes Pollute Drinking Water Systems After Wildfires; It's A Risk In Urban Fires, Too

  When wildfires swept through the hills near Santa Cruz, California, in 2020, they released toxic chemicals into the water supplies of at least two communities. One sample found benzene, a carcinogen, at 40 times the state’s drinking water standard. Our testing has now confirmed a source of these chemicals, and it’s clear that wildfires aren’t the only blazes that put drinking water systems at risk. In a new study, we heated plastic water pipes commonly used in buildings and water systems to test how they would respond to nearby fires.

• 50 Years Of Drinking Water Research

  For nearly 50 years, EPA scientists have done research to support drinking water standards and protect America’s drinking water. However, drinking water systems are increasingly facing new challenges, such as emerging contaminants in source waters that can adversely impact health, including algal toxins from harmful algal blooms (HABs) and per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS).

• Filtration Of Invasive Zebra Mussels From Lake Michigan

  Zebra mussel protection of intake structure for chiller water line and new heat exchanger system.

• Filtration Of Invasive Zebra Mussels For Flood Relief

  Amiad supplies filters to Texas Township, Michigan, USA, to block invasive zebra mussels species and provide flood relief to residents of properties near lakes.

• EPA Develops National Picture Of Underground Storage Tank Facilities And Leaking Underground Storage Tank Sites

  More than 500,000 underground storage tanks (USTs) can be found in communities across the country, storing petroleum and other hazardous substances. Leaks or spills of these substances can contaminate the surrounding soil and groundwater, which can compromise public and private drinking water supplies. These toxic chemical releases can pose serious health, economic, and environmental risks to nearby residents.

• PFAS Destruction Through Supercritical Water Oxidation

  Despite several states taking action against PFAS, satisfying solutions to destroy the forever chemicals have been out of sight. However, a Danish company has taken up the fight, and the proven full-scale solution based on supercritical water oxidation (SCWO) presents promising results.

• A Few Heavy Storms Cause A Big Chunk Of Nitrogen Pollution From Midwest Farms

  Some effects of extreme weather are visible. Other effects are harder to measure, but can be just as harmful. One example is agricultural nitrogen runoff from farmlands in the Mississippi River Basin. It mainly comes from fertilizer that farmers apply to millions of acres of crops.

• Summer Road Trip Finds Small Streams Have Big Impacts On Great Lakes

  In the summer of 2018, Rob Mooney, a graduate student at the University of Wisconsin–Madison’s Center for Limnology, set out on an epic road trip around Lake Michigan. Mooney was no stranger to the drive. In fact, he had already completed eight circuits of the lake over the previous two years as he monitored seasonal changes in dozens of rivers and streams flowing into the lake.