Wastewater Research
Wastewater The used water and solids from a community (including used water from industrial processes) that flow to a treatment plant. Storm water, surface water, and ground-water infiltration also may be included in the wastewater that enters a wastewater treatment plant. The term, sewage usually refers to household wastes, but this word is being replaced by the term, wastewater. management is a critical part of the anthropogenic water cycle that helps ensure that water is clean, safe to use, and protective of ecosystems. Wet weather runoff that flows from urban communities into wastewater collection systems is a significant challenge. Runoff from unpredictable strong storms or continuous heavy rain events can result in rapid changes in flow rates and volumes of wastewater that must be collected and treated, and can exceed design flows for treatment processes at the utility. In addition, the pipe system carrying the water to the facility can exceed its holding capacity, resulting sewer overflows. EPA's wastewater research includes development of methods for detecting and treating contaminants, assessment of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in wastewater, and the development of methods to monitor municipal wastewater for SARS-CoV2 and other contaminants.
Research Topics
- Wastewater Contaminants
- Alternative Wastewater Disinfectant Research
- Water Reuse
- Stormwater Management and Green Infrastructure
- Enhanced Aquifer Recharge
Models, Methods, and Tools
- EPA Science Models and Research Tools (SMaRT) Search
- Environmental Technologies Design Option Tool (ETDOT)
- Non-potable Environmental and economic Water Reuse calculator (NEWR)
- PFAS Analytical Methods Development and Sampling Research
- Water Modeling Tools for Decision Support
- Method 1622: Cryptosporidium in Water by Filtration/IMS/FA (2005)
- Method 1623: Giardia Report Form (pdf)
- Method 1622/1623 Spiking Suspension Enumeration Form: Cryptosporidium Giardia (pdf)
- Hemacytometer Data Sheet for Cryptosporidium Giardia (Circle One), July 1998 (1998) (pdf)