Water Resources Research Act Program

Details for Project ID MA-2024-Lopes

U.S. Geological Survey’s Annual Water Resources Institute Program (WRIP)

Institute: Massachusetts
Year Established: 2024 Start Date: 2024-09-01 End Date: 2025-08-31
Total Federal Funds: $50,000 Total Non-Federal Funds: $50,000

Principal Investigators: Mariana Lanzarini-Lopes

Project Summary: This research focuses on removing harmful chemicals called disinfection byproducts (DBPs) from water. DBPs can end up in drinking water from the unintended reaction of natural organic matter with chlorine. We need to chlorinate water to disinfect it, but these chemicals can cause health problems, so we want to remove them before drinking. We have already seen that high-energy UV light can break down some of these chemicals, but it takes a lot of energy. Now, we want to explore how modifying how much chlorine or hydrogen peroxide is in the water before shining light on t can make the process better and use less energy. We will test this process with real water samples while monitoring all critical aspects of the resulting water quality. If it works well, it will be a new way to make drinking water safe regardless of where it comes from.