Water Resources Research Act Program

Details for Project ID CO_2025_KORAK

Addressing water scarcity through optical sensing for water reuse

Institute: Colorado
Year Established: 2025 Start Date: 2026-01-01 End Date: 2026-12-31
Total Federal Funds: $10,000 Total Non-Federal Funds: $10,000

Principal Investigators: Julie Korak

Project Summary: For communities to maintain water security during drought, water reuse will be critical. Recent work by the research team has shown the effectiveness of coagulation for water reuse, which removes enough effluent organic matter (EfOM) to extend the service life of expensive filtration media by up to 120%. This previous work developed a mathematical model that accurately predicts coagulation efficacy without time-consuming testing. However, the utility of this model can be extended to optimize coagulant doses at treatment plants in real time in response to changing conditions. Real-time optimization can be achieved using optical measurements, such as fluorescence. This project will use statistical analysis and machine learning to analyze a rich existing fluorescence dataset (nearly one million measurements) to develop a fluorescence metric that indicates the treatability of EfOM. This project will improve treatment predictions, increase process resilience, and improve the economic feasibility of water reuse.