Water Resources Research Act Program

Principal Investigators: Sangchul Hwang, Henry Smith

Abstract: Point-of-entry (POE) cistern water purification units (CPU) will benefit many communities which rely on rainwater as their drinking water source (e.g., USVIs). POE CPU could be used by residents voluntarily with the expectation that the units can provide a protective measure if contaminations are present due to dirty rainwater or mismanaged cisterns. It can also be used in a reactive mode, where the residents could take action in response to suspected or confirmed cistern water contaminations. A POE CPU was developed and tested during the first-year project. Based on the results obtained, the POE CPU with the current settings can be used to effectively remove turbidity and fecal coliforms. The goal of the first-year project was to develop and evaluate a POE CPU with respect to physiochemical and bacteriological water quality. To stretch the first-year project’ goal, the second-year project is proposed to execute, focusing on the occurrence of disinfection byproducts (DBPs) in the final effluent from the POE CPU on how to minimize DBPs production potential in the system. Concrete results from both the first- and second- year studies will facilitate future implementation of the POE CPU for the user communities of the USVIs. The proposed second-year research will be conducted for 1 year, with an estimated budget of $20,000. It encompasses a series of lab-scale research on potential of DBPs production in the effluent of the POE CPU, engineering controls of how to minimize DBP occurrences, construction of a pilot-scale POE CPU, and a technical seminar by the PI to the students and professionals in the USVIs.