The following press release was published by the US EPA on Oct. 27. It is reproduced in full below.
WASHINGTON – Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced $6,198,689 in funding for five grants to support research on existing and novel surrogates for detecting and monitoring viruses that are excreted with feces in wastewater that is intended for water reuse applications.
“Safe and reliable water supplies are critical to our nation’s communities and economy,” said Dr. Wayne Cascio, Acting Principal Deputy Assistant Administrator for Science in EPA’s Office of Research and Development. “The research funded by these grants will coordinate water reuse research, help identify critical science gaps and accelerate opportunities for reuse.”
The reclamation and reuse of wastewater has the potential to significantly increase the nation’s total available water resources. When recycling wastewater, a chief public health concern is the risk posed by the presence of viruses that can infect humans, which can be difficult to reduce with traditional sewage treatment approaches. EPA expects the research from these grants will provide information that will enable wastewater operators, reuse projects, and state and local regulators to ensure the public is protected from these viruses when reusing municipal wastewater for various reuse applications.
The following groups are receiving funding under these Nationals Priorities grant awards:
Learn more about the grantees: https://cfpub.epa.gov/ncer_abstracts/index.cfm/fuseaction/recipients.display/rfa_id/676/records_per_page/ALL
Learn more about EPA research grants: https://www.epa.gov/research-grants
Source: US EPA
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