&EPA
United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
Safe and Sustainable
Water Resources
STRATEGIC RESEARCH
ACTION PLAN 2012-2016
Office of Research and Development
Safe and Sustainable Water Resources
-------
EPA 601/R-12/004
Safe and Sustainable
Water Resources
Strategic Research Action Plan 2012 - 2016
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
February 2012
-------
Table of Contents
Executive Summary 4
Introduction 6
Program Design 11
Research Themes and Priority Science Questions 14
Theme 1: Sustainable Water Resources 20
Theme 2: Sustainable Water Infrastructure Systems 24
Conclusion 27
Summary Tables of Outputs and Outcomes 28
References 34
List of Acronyms 35
Research Program Partners and Stakeholders 36
List of Definitions 37
-------
Executive Summary
This document represents a strategic guide to EPA's research actions, alone and In part-
nership with the broader federal, industry and scientific research community, to provide
the science and engineering necessary for safe and sustainable water resources.
Increasing demands are being placed on finite water resources to supply drinking water, water
for other societal needs (including energy, agriculture and industry), and the water necessary to
support healthy aquatic ecosystems. Having adequate water of sufficient quality underpins the
Nation's health, economy, security and ecology. It is the responsibility of the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA) to conduct research and analyses that will ensure that the Nation's
water resources are safe for use and can be sustained for future generations. To ensure that
EPA decisions protecting water resources are based on sound science, EPA's Office of
Research and Development (ORD) has integrated its Drinking Water and Water Quality
research programs to create the Safe and Sustainable Water Resources (SSWR) Research
Program. The SSWR Research Program is undertaking development of sustainable solutions to
21st century water resource problems by integrating research on social, environmental and
economic outcomes to provide lasting solutions.
SSWR will target two major challenges:
• Provide the best science in a timely manner to allow faster and/or smarter management
decisions for the Nation's existing water resource problems; and
• Get scientific knowledge out in front of tomorrow's problems by developing and applying
new approaches that better inform and guide environmentally sustainable water resource
management.
Increasing demands for sources of clean water, combined with changing land use practices,
population growth, aging infrastructure, and climate change and variability, pose significant
threats to the Nation's water resources. Failure to manage the Nation's waters in an integrated,
sustainable manner can jeopardize human and aquatic ecosystem health and impact our
society and economy. The SSWR Research Program seeks to develop sustainable solutions to
these complex water issues and proactively develop solutions to emerging and future problems,
ensuring that clean, adequate and equitable supplies of water are available to support human
well-being and resilient aquatic ecosystems, now and in the future.
The SSWR Strategic Research Action Plan was developed by EPA scientists and managers
from ORD, the Office of Water (OW), other programs offices and the regions, with input from
stakeholders from water associations, water research foundations, utilities, environmental
groups, tribes, industry, and state agencies. The input from these groups was invaluable in
identifying the problem statement and vision for SSWR, as well as the key research that will
result in timely, relevant and sustainable solutions.
-------
The program uses two broad, interrelated research themes as its framework: (1) Sustainable
Water Resources and (2) Sustainable Water Infrastructure Systems.
The goals of these thematic research areas are:
Research Theme 1—Sustainable Water Resources:
Ensure safe and sustainable water quality and availability to protect human and ecosystem
health by integrating social, economic and environmental research for use in protecting
and restoring water resources and their designated uses (e.g., drinking water, aquatic life,
recreation, industrial processes, other designated uses) on a watershed scale.
Research Theme 2—Sustainable Water Infrastructure Systems:
Ensure the sustainability of critical water resources using systems-integrated water resource
management in which the natural, green and built water infrastructure is capable of producing,
storing and delivering safe and high-quality drinking water, and providing transport and use-
specific treatment of wastewater and stormwater.
-------
Introduction
Adequate and safe water underpins the
Nation's health, economy, security, and
ecology (NRC, 2004). It is the responsibility
of EPA to conduct research and analyses that
will ensure that the Nation's water resources
are safe for use and can be sustained for
future generations. In EPA's 40-year history,
significant advances have been made in
protecting the country's waters through the
effective control of potable water treatment
and point-source contamination. This has
resulted in better protected and improved
human and ecosystem health through
reductions in waterborne disease organisms
and chemicals.
Despite the advances made during the past
40 years, there are 21st century challenges
that continue to threaten the Nation's water
supplies. The Nation's wastewater and
drinking water systems are stretched to serve
an increasing population, and they suffer
from inadequate, outdated and/or neglected
infrastructure, resulting in more than 240,000
water-main breaks per year (Kirmeyer et
al. 1994), losing trillions of gallons of water
each year at a cost more than $2.5 billion. In
addition, there are as many as 75,000 sanitary
sewer overflows per year, which discharge
billions of gallons of untreated wastewater into
the Nation's water resources and contribute
to more than 5,000 annual illnesses from
contaminated recreational waters (U.S. EPA
2004). Waterborne disease continues to
threaten drinking water supplies as well, with
Legionella and viruses the more common
pathogens attributed to disease incidences
(Yoder et al. 2008).
The controls on point sources of pollution will
no longer suffice to sustain the Nation's water
quality, as nonpoint sources in watersheds,
when viewed collectively, are often the
main pollutant contributors. An example is
nutrient pollution (nitrogen and phosphorous),
described as EPA Office of Water's (OW)
"water issue of the decade." The events that
cascade from nutrient pollution are not simply
a pervasive problem for aquatic ecosystems,
they also create public health problems. Both
of these will likely be exacerbated by climate
variability/change and changes in water
quantity. Nutrients enter the hydrologic cycle
either directly or from other media (air, land)
where they adversely impact fresh surface
water, groundwater, estuaries and marine
systems. Based on Clean Water Act (CWA)
Section 303d listings of impaired waters,
excessive nutrient loads are responsible
for poor biological condition in more than
30 percent of the Nation's stream miles
(U.S. EPA 2006) and about 20 percent of
the Nation's lakes and reservoirs (U.S.
EPA2009b). In addition, these loads raise
public health concerns associated with toxic
cyanobacterial blooms, nitrate pollution and
the formation of disinfection by-products in
drinking water supplies. Solving the nutrient
pollution problem and ensuring sustainable,
safe water resources will require expertise
from the industrial (e.g., energy, agriculture),
social (e.g., public health, cultural) and
environmental (e.g., wastewater treatment,
natural green infrastructure, recreation)
sectors.
Another challenge in meeting EPA's
responsibilities for managing water quality to
meet designated uses is water quantity. The
U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) evaluates the
withdrawal of water for different uses, including
water used for consumptive purposes. The
USGS (2005) estimated that more than 85
percent of the withdrawals in the United States
were from freshwater, with 80 percent of that
being drawn from surface waters. The 340
billion gallon-per-day freshwater withdrawals
support primarily irrigation and livestock
-------
(85%), industrial and mining processes (4%),
and thermal electric power (3%).
Thus, the increasing demand for sources of
clean water, combined with changing land
use practices, growth, aging infrastructure,
increasing energy and food demands,
increasing chemicals in commerce, and
climate variability and change, pose significant
threats to the Nation's water resources.
Specific effects from these pressures on
drinking-water quality or aquatic ecosystem
condition are more difficult to define, and
current assessments are not sufficient to meet
the information needs of most water resource
managers. These demands and uses are
creating diffuse and widespread stressors on
finite water resources, and these stressors
cannot be accommodated by conventional
20th century approaches. As a result, the rate
at which waters are listed as being impaired
exceeds the rate at which they are being
restored (U.S. EPA 2011a). Without new and
better approaches to inform and manage the
Nation's changing water condition, the country
will continue to slip backward from its earlier
progress toward clean water, and this will limit
economic prosperity and jeopardize human
and aquatic ecosystem health.
To address these challenges, EPA has
integrated its Drinking Water and Water
Quality research programs and established
the SSWR Research Program. The goal of this
program is to seek sustainable solutions to
the 21st century problems facing the Nation's
water resources. This document represents
a strategic guide to EPA's research actions,
alone and in partnership with the broader
federal, industry and scientific research
community. The following are the problem
statement and vision for the program as
developed by scientists and managers from
EPA's ORD, OW, other programs offices,
regional offices, and external stakeholders
from water associations, water research
foundations, utilities, environmental groups,
tribes, industry, and state agencies.
Problem Statement: Increasing demands
for sources of clean water, combined
with changing land use practices, growth,
aging infrastructure, and climate change
and variability, pose significant threats to
the Nation's water resources. Failure to
manage the Nation's waters in an integrated,
sustainable manner will limit economic
prosperity and jeopardize human and aquatic
ecosystem health.
Vision: SSWR uses an integrated, systems
approach to research for the identification and
development of the scientific, technological
and behavioral innovations needed to ensure
clean, adequate, and equitable supplies of
water that support human well-being and
resilient aquatic ecosystems.
-------
Research Supports EPA
Priorities
Taking action on climate change
• Improving air quality
• Assuring the safety of chemicals
• Cleaning up our communities
• Protecting America's waters
• Expanding the conversation on
environmentalism and working for
en vironmental justice
• Building strong state and tribal
partnerships
Statutory and Policy Context
EPA is responsible for protecting the Nation's
water resources under the Clean Water Act
(CWA) and for ensuring that the Nation's
drinking water is safe under the Safe
Drinking Water Act (SDWA). Further, it is the
responsibility of EPA to conduct research and
analyses to inform decisions ensuring that the
Nation's water resources are safe for use and
can be sustained for future generations.
EPA Priorities
Building on EPA's statutory responsibilities,
EPA's FY 2011-2015 Strategic Plan, Achieving
Our Vision (U.S. EPA2011b) highlights
"Protecting America's Waters" as one of seven
key goals for the Agency. Under this goal, EPA
will strive to "protect and restore our waters
to ensure that drinking water is safe, and
that aquatic ecosystems sustain fish, plants,
and wildlife, and economic, recreational, and
subsistence activities."
SSWR is well positioned to support this goal
and the two specific objectives of protecting
human health and protecting and restoring
watersheds and aquatic ecosystems. By
focusing on sustainable solutions and
integrating the historical drinking water
and water quality research into one holistic
program, EPA will be able to leverage
expertise and capabilities to address not only
manifestations of water problems (such as
poor water quality) but also the root causes of
problems related to increased urbanization,
population demographics and nonpoint
source pollution as a means toward achieving
sustainable solutions (Figure 1). In addition,
research under this program will benefit other
strategic goals (e.g., Taking Action on Climate
Change and Improving Air Quality, Cleaning
Up Communities and Advancing Sustainable
Development, and Ensuring the Safety of
Chemicals and Preventing Pollution) through
the intersection of SSWR with each of the
other ORD research programs.
The overarching and actionable goals for
SSWR research stem from EPA's mandate
and the needs for EPA's National Water
Program to:
• Protect public health and the environment;
• Protect and restore water sustainably to
ensure that drinking water is safe and that
aquatic ecosystems sustain fish, plants and
wildlife and to meet societal, economic and
environmental needs; and
• Manage water resources in a sustainable
manner that integrates wastewater,
stormwater, drinking water and reclaimed
water; maximizes the recovery of energy,
nutrients, materials and water; and
incorporates comprehensive water planning
(such as low-impact development and smart
growth) and optimum combinations of built,
green and natural infrastructure.
Considering the types of challenges facing
the Nation's water resources, the program
developed the following comparison of
current and desired state (Table 1) to illustrate
SSWR's research goals for achieving safe and
sustainable water resources.
-------
ORIGINS OF
THE PROBLEMS
Urbanization
Including:
•land use
Non point
source
pollution
•Agriculture
MANIFESTIONS OF THE PROBLEM
IN THE WATER ENVIRONMENT
SYSTEMS APPROACH
TO SOLUTIONS
Poor Water Quality
•Pltysical processes
(e.E ..Now; degraded
h.ibiljtl
•Loadings: Nutrients,
Pathogens, Chemicals,
Sediments
•Industrial
Processes
Additional stressors
Population
demographics
• aging drinking
water and
•Insufficient Water
Quantity
•Climate change and
variability
NEW FOCUS
Pro-active,
Integrated,
Sustainable
Solutions
Sustainable Water Resources -
Ensure safe and sustainable waiter quality
and availability to prelect human and
ewsyswni health by integrating swial,
economic and environmental research for
use in protecting and restoring water
rr--ourcn and |h*ir designated US*t f,*.g.,
drinking water, recreation, industrial
processes, and other designated uses) on
t waitrshtd salt.
Sustainable Water
if'.i-.iructufe Systems- Ensure
the susta inability of critical water
resources using systems-Integrated
water nrsounse management wtxrc
the natural, green and built water
infrastructure is capable of producing,
stoning and delivering safe and high
quality drinking vaatn, and providing
transport and use-specific treatment
of wsstewater and storrmvater.
Figure 1. SSWR Research Program to address both the origins and manifestations
of problems in the water environment.
Current State
Not all communities receive high quality
drinking water
Human health and aquatic life are challenged
by known and emerging contaminants in our
water resources
Lack of resilience to climate change or other
destructive forces
Failure of aging water infrastructure outstrips
resources to repair, replace, and restore
function and uncharacterized public and
ecosystem health impacts
Many water bodies are impaired by excessive
nutrients
Watershed integrity is compromised by
unsustainable land use practices
Increased urbanization and land development
threaten healthy watersheds
Unsustainable practices threaten water
resources and water treatment capacity is
often insufficient for existing loads
Potable water demand is increasing in
populated areas
Desired State
All US communities receive high quality
drinking water
Human health and aquatic ecosystems are
proactively protected
Resilient, climate ready, flexible, efficient, and
adaptive systems
Synergistic use of natural ecosystem services
and built infrastructure to achieve well
characterized and safe public and ecosystem
health
Nutrient levels are in balance with natural
water systems and associated safe public
and ecosystem health
Watershed/ basin hydrology has been
restored to maintain integrity
Environmental stewardship is incorporated
into our societal fabric and land use planning,
resulting in an increase in healthy watersheds
Water availability and quality is consistently
maintained in an affordable manner to
support human and ecological needs
Potable water demand is safely met by local
sources while maintaining ecological needs
Table 1. Aspirational desired state to achieve safe and sustainable water resources.
-------
To achieve the desired states, SSWR
research will seek to:
Develop next generation water system
concepts that decrease energy demands,
recover resources and restore the
environment through affordable and
public health promoting means; and
Utilize effective tools for various scales and
tiers of application to undertake systems
analysis of water resources by addressing
health/societal needs, economic and
ecosystem concerns.
-------
Program Design
Producing an Integrated Program
Historically, EPA's Drinking Water and Water
Quality Research Programs conducted re-
search in support of EPA's OW and regional
offices. The Drinking Water Research Program
provided methodologies, data, tools, models
and technologies that inform regulatory de-
cisions, health risk assessments and other
needs pertaining to the Safe Drinking Water
Act's statutory requirements. Drinking water
research has been targeted at the reliable
delivery of safe drinking water and developing
approaches to improve water infrastructure,
promoting high-quality water sources and
implementing regulatory decisions while ad-
dressing simultaneous compliance issues.
The Water Quality Research Program, alter-
natively, was designed to support the CWA.
It does so by providing scientific informa-
tion and tools to help protect and restore the
designated uses of water bodies that sustain
human health and aquatic life. Water quality
research has focused on the development and
application of water quality criteria, the imple-
mentation of effective watershed management
approaches, and the application of effective
treatment and management alternatives to
restore and protect water bodies.
The rationale for realigning the Drinking Water
and Water Quality Research Programs into
one program is simple: water is one resource.
The SSWR Research Program will begin
addressing key issues, such as comprehen-
sive water resource management, water
sustainability metrics, infrastructure life-cycle
assessments, and economical and effec-
tive management of multiple stressors (e.g.,
nutrients, sediments, pathogens and other
contaminants). This realignment is designed
to draw on ORD's proven internal capabilities
and expertise to better plan and conduct the
EPA's Six Integrated Research
Programs:
Safe and Sustainable Water
Resources (SSWR)
Air, Climate, and Energy (ACE)
Chemical Safety for Sustainability
(CSS)
Homeland Security Research (HS)
Human Health Risk Assessment
(HHRA)
Sustainable and Healthy Communities
(SHC)
transdisciplinary research needed by EPA to
fulfill its mission to protect human health and
the environment.
SSWR's integrated research approach adds
this transformative component to EPA's exist-
ing water research portfolio by seeking sus-
tainable solutions through integrating research
on social, environmental and economic out-
comes in solving water resource problems.
This research will leverage the diverse
capabilities of the Agency, as well as EPA's
partners' scientists, engineers, economists,
social scientists and policy-makers. This inte-
grated approach to developing scientific, tech-
nological and behavioral innovations will help
ensure that water bodies within the context of
their watersheds meet their designated uses,
and that clean, adequate, and equitable sup-
plies of surface, ground and drinking water are
available to support human needs and resilient
aquatic ecosystems.
-------
Collaborating Across Research Programs
Many of the water issues addressed by this
research program are not unique to SSWR
and required close coordination and collabora-
tion with the other ORD research programs.
For example, energy-related issues such as
the impacts of hydraulic fracturing and surface
and subsurface mineral extraction on drinking
water resources are closely coordinated with
the Air, Climate and Energy (ACE) Research
Program. Similarly, the impacts of climate
change and variability on water resources are
addressed in SSWR and coordinated with the
ACE Research Program. In addition to climate,
nitrogen pollution, a central issue for SSWR,
is a cross-cutting issue for other Agency re-
search programs and is being closely integrat-
ed with the ACE and Sustainable and Healthy
Communities (SHC) Research Programs. The
Chemical Safety for Sustainability and SSWR
Research Programs collaborate to address the
drinking water program's research needs
concerning the Contaminant Candidate List
(CCL) and new developments in risk assess-
ment. Risk assessment of specific chemical
and microbial contaminants is coordinated with
the Human Health Risk Assessment Research
Program. The SSWR and SHC Research Pro-
grams work together on research focusing on
green infrastructure, development of indicators
and interoperability of models.
Developing Partnerships from the Start
Establishing and building partnerships has
been essential to the development of the
SSWR Research Program. This was achieved
through a series of meetings with program and
regional managers within EPA and scientist-
to-scientist meetings between ORD, OW and
other program office and regional scientists.
These meeting discussions resulted in the
articulation of a problem statement and vision
for the program along with the identification of
specific challenges facing the Agency during
the next decade for which ORD science could
inform future decisions. OW staff have been
engaged with ORD in identifying and develop-
ing research projects and tasks, focusing par-
ticularly on the products to be produced and
the timeframes, ensuring that program and
regional needs were being met. Web-based
tools (e.g., IdeaScale), face-to-face meetings
and webinars allowed for the critical interaction
and communication needed with a geographi-
cally distributed work force.
In addition to coordination within ORD, re-
search addressed by the SSWR program was
coordinated with other federal research organi-
zations concerned with water resources, such
as the USGS, National Oceanic and Atmo-
spheric Administration, U.S. Fish and Wldlife
Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture and
U.S. Department of Energy. It was also coor-
dinated with external stakeholder groups such
as the Water Environment Research Founda-
tion, Water Research Foundation, National
Groundwater Research Foundation, Water
Reuse Research Foundation, state agencies,
tribes, various public health, environmental
groups, and consulting groups, and water util-
ity associations.
The SSWR Research Program builds on OWs
National Water Program Research Strategy
(U.S. EPA 2009b). It ensures that the neces-
sary research, science and technology are
in place to meet the needs of the National
Water Program, and it engages its federal
partners and the broader water community in
the identification and investigation of the most
pressing current and future water research
needs. SSWR will help ensure that EPA's
National Water Program successfully achieves
its statutory and regulatory obligations while
also conducting research needed for address-
ing emerging 21st century problems. OWs
Research Strategy and SSWR's research both
are designed to address EPA's Strategic Goals
and Subobjectives.
SSWR will continue to be responsive to Agen-
cy program and regional offices and lever-
age partnerships with many of the program's
outside stakeholders (e.g., federal, tribal,
state and local governments; nongovernmen-
tal organizations; industry; and communities
affected by environmental problems) to bet-
-------
ter identify the most important environmental
problems facing the Nation. These interactions
have occurred at the earliest planning stages
for the program and its implementation and will
continue through ultimate product delivery and
subsequent technical support.
Central to the development of the SSWR
Research Program was an understanding
of the problems and issues facing EPA's
OW and regions, states and other stake-
holders during the next decade. Six pro-
grammatic challenges were identified by
EPA's Office of Water and the EPA regions:
1. The National Water Program and the states
need to fully implement cost-effective nutrient
pollutant reduction strategies that protect
aquatic ecosystems from nutrient pollution
and enable recovery/restoration of impacted
waters.
o High-priority ecological focal areas
include the Mississippi River Basin, Gulf of
Mexico, Chesapeake Bay and Florida.
o Associated human health issues
stem from cyanobacterial blooms in fresh,
estuarine and marine waters related to nutrient
pollution.
2. The National Water Program needs to be
more efficient and effective in managing and/
or regulating both known and emerging chemi-
cals of concern (e.g., pharmaceutical and
personal care products).
o Critical needs include cumulative risk
impacts, water quality criteria and methods,
nonpoint source introductions, and impacts on
susceptible populations.
3. The National Water Program and the states
need to fully implement regulatory strategies to
protect human health from new and emerging
pathogens.
o Critical needs include microbial
source tracking, quantitative cumulative micro-
bial risk, criteria and methods, and pathogen
level reduction.
4. The National Water Program needs to pro-
vide states, local governments and municipali-
ties with the tools, technology and approaches
for sustainable water infrastructure that en-
sures public health protection.
o High priority areas include drinking
water and wastewater infrastructure sustain-
ability, new treatment technology, stormwater
management, cost-effective and energy-effi-
cient solutions, and pollutant source reduction.
5. The National Water Program and the states
need to fully embrace systems approaches to
protect watersheds to better maintain, protect
and restore water resources, including ground-
water, to ensure that they are sustainable now
and in the future.
o High-priority areas include climate
change impacts and adaptation, green infra-
structure and water reuse, wetlands, alterna-
tive fuels impacts minimization, watershed
best management practices, futures/alterna-
tives analysis, monitoring, modeling, and
analysis for water quality/quantity trends and
decision-making for freshwater and estuarine
ecosystems.
6. The National Water Program needs to un-
derstand and address the impacts of climate
change on water management programs. It is
necessary to understand how to modify tools
and approaches to set water quality criteria
and standards in the face of a changing cli-
mate.
EPA's regional offices expressed further needs
in addressing issues such as the development
of water quality criteria, cost effective tools and
technologies, and cumulative risk.
The Strategic Research Action Plan for EPA's
Safe and Sustainable Water Resources Re-
search maps out a research program for the
next approximately 5 to 10 years. It has been
designed with the flexibility needed to leverage
scientific breakthroughs, address emerging
priorities, and the changing needs of decision
makers. As such, it is a "living document" that
will be updated as needed over that time.
-------
Research Themes and Priority
Science Questions
Background
From the programmatic challenges (see "Developing Partnerships From the Start,") identified by
EPA and the program's other stakeholders, seven issue areas that impact water resources were
selected to build the foundation for developing an integrated transdisciplinary research
approach across ORD's SSWR Research Program.
Nitrogen (N) and Phosphorous (P)
Pollution
Excess loading of various forms of N and
P, plus pathogen contamination, are among
the most prevalent causes of water quality
impairment in the United States; water qual-
ity impairments totaled 6,950 surface waters
for nutrients, 6,511 surface waters for organic
enrichment/oxygen depletion and 10,956
surface waters for pathogens per the 2010
CWA Section 303(d) List of Impaired Waters.
Excess N and P in water bodies originates
from many point and nonpoint sources, which
can be grouped into six general categories:
(1) urban and suburban stormwater runoff
associated with residential and commercial
land development, (2) municipal and industrial
wastewater discharges, (3) row crop agricul-
ture and fertilizer use, (4) livestock production
and manure management practices, (5) atmo-
spheric deposition resulting from nitrogen ox-
ide emissions from fossil fuel combustion and
ammonia emissions from row crop agriculture
and livestock production, and (6) legacy nutri-
ent pollution, often a result of nitrogen con-
tamination of groundwater and/or phosphorus
contamination of sediments. Furthermore,
land use and land cover in watersheds across
much of the Nation has been altered such that
a higher fraction of the N and P applied to the
landscape will reach surface and groundwater
resources and impact aquatic life uses, hu-
man health and economic prosperity.
N and P pollution creates significant and
ever-growing water quality concerns across
the Nation. Often, the most immediate effects
are economic because contaminated water
sources can no longer be used and must be
replaced with new water sources that are
safe to use. This can be especially challeng-
ing where limited water resources already are
tightly managed and heavily utilized. More
latent effects, but no less important, are nutri-
ent impacts on human health and aquatic
life, which can occur as both a direct (e.g.,
methemoglobinemia) and indirect (e.g., toxins
from hazardous algal blooms) consequence of
nutrient pollution.
Existing regulatory and nonregulatory efforts
to control N and P pollution have not, in most
cases, kept pace with the growth of N and P
impairments. Absent a change in approach, N
and P pollution likely will continue to increase
in the future. SSWR intends to conduct the
research that provides innovative and inte-
grated scientific, management and regulatory
approaches for sustainable solutions to reduce
N and P pollution while providing the great-
est opportunity to enjoy long-term economic
prosperity, ecosystem health and human well-
being.
Agricultural Uses of Water
Improvements to agricultural production will be
required to meet the increasing societal de-
mand for food and renewable energy. Current-
ly, agriculture and energy combined account
for nearly 80 percent of the freshwater with-
drawals in the United States, and agricultural
irrigation accounts for the largest consumptive
use. Agricultural production of crops and live-
stock also significantly alter soils, surface and
groundwater quality, hydrology, biodiversity,
and landscapes. Crop production can expose
-------
soil to erosion, requires addition of nutrients
(e.g., chemical fertilizers, manure, biosolids)
and pesticides, and can physically alter hydrol-
ogy (e.g., drainage of croplands, draining or
filling of wetlands, removal of riparian areas,
channelization of headwater and stream
environments, soil compaction, construction
of levees), resulting in the direct physical and
chemical alteration of surface and groundwa-
ter. Irrigation, where used, alters water avail-
ability, flow and chemistry in streams, rivers,
soils and groundwater. Livestock production
and application of livestock waste to crops
or pastures at greater than agronomic rates
can cause constituent contaminants in the
manure to runoff to water. Hormones, antibiot-
ics and heavy metals added to feed often end
up in both the manure and in receiving wa-
ters. These livestock feed contaminants and
others from agricultural production, such as
pesticides, nitrates, fine sediments and patho-
gens, often end up in surface and groundwa-
ter. Either singularly or in combination, these
contaminants can pose a health threat to
aquatic life, humans drinking this water and
aquatic-dependent wildlife. SSWR scientists
will conduct research that provides sustainable
water quality and quantity for meeting society's
agricultural production needs and minimizes
adverse public health and ecosystem impacts
from water associated with agriculture use.
Energy/Mineral Extraction and Injection
Processes
Increasing demands for energy and mineral
resources, the desire to supply a greater
fraction of energy and mineral demands from
domestic sources, and the need to mitigate the
production and release of greenhouse gases
all point to the need to increase diversification
of energy and mineral production. The nation's
energy portfolio likely will span such diverse
activities as enhanced recovery of unconven-
tional fossil fuel sources and geothermal, wind
and wave, solar, and possibly nuclear energy,
all of which exert differing pressures on water
resources. Energy and minerals production in
the United States already has an important im-
pact on surface and subsurface water resourc-
es; future impacts can be expected to be even
greater and more diverse. SSWR research is
being conducted to produce scientifically rigor-
ous information and assessment techniques
to assist society in making sound choices for
a more sustainable water-energy-minerals
future. These assessment and mitigation
tools of the future will address the diversity of
impacts. They also will account for cumulative
impacts of mixtures of such activities, in dif-
fering proportions and in differing geographic
and climactic regions. Evaluating the true life-
cycle impacts and costs of current and future
resource extraction/injection technologies is
critical. Public education about the advantages
and limitations of resource extraction/injection
activities and options to minimize resource use
and consumption will help reduce potentially
harmful impacts to the Nation's health and
environment.
Protecting Aquatic Ecosystems and Their
Supporting Watersheds
Aquatic ecosystems and their supporting wa-
tersheds provide critical economic and social
benefits to society. Protecting the integrity
and beneficial uses of aquatic systems is the
primary goal of the CWA. Achieving this goal
requires a detailed understanding of which
human uses of watersheds create critical
pressures and stressors, how those stressors
interact, and how they cumulatively affect the
structure and function of aquatic ecosystems.
These beneficial uses of many watershed
aquatic ecosystems currently are threatened
by a complex array of pressures and stress-
ors, including nutrient and sediment loading,
climate change, habitat alteration, introduc-
tion of invasive species, toxic pollutants and
hydrologic alteration. In the face of increasing
anthropogenic pressures, sustaining and re-
storing aquatic ecosystem integrity will require
that watersheds be understood and managed
as complex ecological systems. The interac-
tions of watershed-scale controls, climate and
human drivers control the key watershed pro-
cesses that are observed as fluxes of water,
sediment and organic matter, heat and light,
invasive species, and nutrients and chemicals.
-------
These processes then act to regulate eco-
system structure, its function and, ultimately,
aquatic biological integrity.
SSWR will conduct research to assess the
condition of aquatic ecosystems and by
obtaining a systems understanding of the
watershed processes, help to sustain high
quality ecosystems. By quantifying the social,
economic and environmental costs of water
quality degradation, the program can begin
to examine the triple bottom line for sustain-
able water quality in watersheds. With the
large number of watersheds that currently are
degraded, it is necessary to understand the
factors associated with protecting, maintaining
and restoring the integrity and resilience of the
nation's aquatic resources, so that successful
restoration actions can be prioritized.
Contaminants and Industrial Processes
Protection of aquatic systems, both as ecologi-
cal entities and as sources of water for drink-
ing and other human uses, is compromised
by shortcomings in our abilities to adequately
assess and mitigate the full range of risks
posed by waterborne contaminants (chemicals
and microbial pathogens). The rate at which
waterborne chemical hazards are assessed
with traditional approaches cannot keep pace
with the rate at which new chemicals are being
introduced. Better understanding of the risks
posed by chemicals also is challenged by
increasingly complicated mixtures of chemi-
cals, uncertainties about chemical transfer
and transformations within the environment,
and inadequacies in monitoring in situ expo-
sures and effects. This inability to adequately
assess chemical risks hinders the evaluation
and advancement of remediation strategies.
Similar issues compromise the assessment of
microbial pathogens, including insufficient viru-
lence data, uncertain fate and transport in the
environment, and incomplete understanding
of the effectiveness of treatments. Mitigation
of risks typically emphasizes treatment rather
than prevention, and available treatments of-
ten are costly and can result in the creation of
hazardous byproducts or residual wastes that
require further management. Institutional com-
partmentalization of the evaluation and man-
agement of wastewater, natural water bodies
and drinking water makes addressing the total
problems less effective, and all of this is oc-
curring in a period when increasing population
and expanding energy demands are requiring
more efficient use (and re-use) of finite water
resources.
A more sustainable path for the Nation's water
resources requires a better integration of the
understanding, assessment and management
of chemical and microbial threats across the
entire water cycle. It also requires doing so in
a manner that recognizes the connections of
water resources to the social, environmental
and industrial functions they serve. SSWR will
conduct research that develops the tools and
technologies to ensure that the quality and
quantity of water used by society is returned to
a watershed in a state similar to when it was
withdrawn. In addition, it must avoid signifi-
cant adverse effects on humans and aquatic
ecosystems. To accomplish this, research
will focus on: reducing the number, amounts
and hazards of contaminants entering waste
streams; improved monitoring for the occur-
rence and effects of chemical and microbio-
logical contaminants in the environment and
drinking water supplies; improved ecological
and human health risk estimates for chemical
and microbial contaminants that do enter wa-
ter resources; and development of sustainable
means to treat or otherwise manage contami-
nants that cannot be otherwise controlled.
Sustainable Infrastructure
Improving the sustainability of the Nation's
water infrastructure (including components
used in the agricultural and energy sectors)
is the country's top water priority. Much of
the difficulty is a result of the nature of the
current system design and changing human
demographics and population growth, which
are combined with ongoing deficiencies in
infrastructure replacement; many of the Na-
tion's wastewater, stormwater and drinking
water systems have exceeded their designed
-------
lifetime (some systems are greater than 100
years old). These problems are exacerbated
by competing regulations and a lack of a
systems-economics approach within the water
sector and risks arising from new sources and
types of pollution, concerns regarding emerg-
ing contaminants, climate variability and other
hazards (such as earthquakes or hurricanes).
These challenges require a fundamental shift
to more resilient water infrastructure solu-
tions and technologies to sustain the quality
and quantity of water available for human and
ecological uses and needs. Also, metrics are
lacking for evaluating the public health and
ecosystem implications from existing and de-
clining infrastructure and assisting in selecting
and maintaining innovative solutions.
In 2002, the Agency estimated that if spend-
ing for capital investment and operations and
maintenance remained at current levels, the
potential funding gap between what likely will
be invested in U.S. municipal water infrastruc-
ture and what is truly needed for the next 20
years would be $270 billion for wastewater
infrastructure and $263 billion for drinking wa-
ter infrastructure. Given the current economic
realities, this funding gap is highly unlikely to
be filled. Furthermore, the municipal water
services consume more than 7 percent of the
Nation's electricity production. SSWR research
will focus on developing economical new in-
novative technologies to provide sustainable
solutions in rehabilitating and modernizing the
country's water infrastructure systems. This re-
search will include the minimization of energy
use, effective recycling and re-use of water
and waste, with the ultimate goal of providing
communities with management options for
sustainable water quality and availability at the
watershed scale.
Climate
Projected impacts of climate change include
local to regional shifts in the hydrologic cycle
(e.g., increased droughts, more extreme rain-
fall events, more frequent precipitation events,
earlier spring melt, increased surface water
temperatures) with the expectation that pat-
terns will shift outside of historical trends. The
current U.S. water supply and water quality
models and decisions, however, were built
on these historical experiences. Every region
of the country is experiencing impacts from
hydrologic shifts. More than two-thirds of the
states are anticipating local to statewide water
shortages within the next 2 years. Also, bet-
ter strategies for treating and delivering safe
water and for delivery and treating wastewater
are needed to reduce the water-related energy
demand while protecting human and ecosys-
tem health. SSWR views climate variability
and change as an additional overarching
stressor impacting all aspects of the research
program. Therefore, climate stressors are
incorporated throughout each section of the
current SSWR research program.
Developing a Safe and Sustainale Water
Resources Research program
To place the above seven areas into context,
EPA's research historically focused on mani-
festations of problems in the water environ-
ment. These include issues such as physical
processes (including temperature, flow and
degraded habitat) and concentrations for
nutrients, pathogens, chemicals and sedi-
ments. Additional stressors related to increas-
ing demands on the Nation's water supply and
climate change/variability exacerbate water
quality problems. To solve these problems,
EPA's research must also address the origins
of the problems associated with increased
urbanization, which includes land use man-
agement and industrial processes; changing
population demographics and the pressures
placed on aging drinking water and wastewa-
ter infrastructure; and nonpoint sources of pol-
lution that include agricultural practices (Figure
1). Only by considering the root causes
and the manifestations of the problems can
sustainable solutions be sought.
To investigate the sustainability of water
resources, it is necessary to consider three
basic attributes of human well being: the
environment, the economy and society (includ-
ing public health). According to the National
-------
Environmental Policy Act of 1969, sustain-
ability is defined as being able "to create and
maintain conditions under which humans and
nature can exist in productive harmony, [and]
that permit fulfilling the social, economic,
and other requirements of present and future
generations." Sustainability challenges can-
not be addressed in isolation because many
problems are highly interdependent, and many
solutions have hidden adverse consequences.
For example, the research community has rec-
ognized the close linkage between water and
energy resources: water is needed to generate
energy, and energy is needed to convey water.
A systems approach is necessary to under-
stand these complex, interdependent relation-
ships and develop sound environmental and
economic policies that lead to a sustainable
society.
When addressing sustainability challenges,
the development of "solutions" requires a bal-
ancing of the three aspects of sustainability. A
preferred solution or management intervention
will improve the environmental dimension of
the system in question without degrading the
economic and social dimensions and ideally
will improve all three. In some cases, however,
trade-offs will be necessary. For example,
initial financial investments may be required to
reverse environmental degradation. In prac-
tice, there will be a need for finer resolution
of the three dimensions (e.g., short-term vs.
long-term, workers vs. consumers) and care-
ful definition of the system scale and bound-
aries (e.g., supply chain, urban community,
ecosystem). To explore sustainable solutions,
the SSWR research framework utilizes an
overarching conceptual model (Figure 2) that
depicts the linkages and flows of value among
economic, social and environmental systems
(Fiksel et al. 2012). Environmental systems
Sustainable Water Resource Systems
Economy
Public Health &
Communities
products & services
water supply
extractive uses:
energy, irrigation,
industrial processes
recycled water
human exposure
recreational
and cultural uses
— infra-
structure
freshwater
depletion
Water Environment
water cycle provides ecosystem services
Figure 2. Conceptual model of the SSWR research framework shows the linkages and flows
between the economic, social and environmental systems (from Fiksel et al. 2011)
-------
provide critical ecosystem services, includ-
ing water resources, which provide value to
both industrial and societal systems. Human
communities consume products and services
supplied by the industrial economy, and they
generate waste that may be recycled into
industrial systems or deposited into the envi-
ronment. In addition, communities benefit from
the recreational and cultural amenities pro-
vided by water resources. Economic growth
may be adversely impacted when markets fail
to account for economic externalities such as
gradual degradation of water quality; the result
is a loss of opportunity for future generations,
sometimes called an "inter-temporal market
failure" (Binswanger and Chakraboty 2000).
Research in the fields of natural resource
economics and ecological economics seeks to
prevent such market failures through explicit
valuation of natural resources.
Using the program's conceptual model of
sustainable water resource systems (Figure
2), the programmatic challenges (see "Devel-
oping Partnerships From the Start,") identified
by EPA and the program's other stakeholders,
and the SSWR goal of ensuring that clean and
adequate supplies of water are available to
support human well-being and resilient aquatic
ecosystems, two interrelated research themes
emerge: Sustainable Water Resources and
Sustainable Water Infrastructure Systems.
These interrelated research themes and their
intended outcomes form the basis of the inte-
grated SSWR Research Program to inform de-
cisions and policies regarding water resource
management.
-------
Research Themes and
Priority Science Questions
Theme 1: Sustainable Water Resources
Ensure safe and sustainable water quality and availability to protect human and
ecosystem health by integrating social, economic and environmental research for use in
protecting and restoring water resources and their designated uses (e.g., drinking water,
aquatic life, recreation, Industrial processes) on a watershed scale.
Theme 1:
Sustainable Water Resources
Economy
Potable water
demand reduction
Behavior
change
Public agencies
Public Health &
Communities
Water intensity
reduction
Best practices for
agriculture and
natural resource
extraction
Treatment technologies
Water reuse
Full cost
accounting
Future use
scenarios
Watershed
monitoring
Public health and
ecological impact
assessment
Best practices for
water resource
management
Best practices for water
qualfty projection
Sustainability
and resilience
limate
change
adaptation
and modeling Water Environment assessment
Figure 3. Theme 1 Conceptual Model.
Theme 1 focuses on the flow and uses of
water in the system (Figure 3). Research in
Theme 1 informs the protection and resto-
ration of the quality of water to sustainably
provide safe drinking and recreational waters
for humans, maintain healthy aquatic life and
aquatic-dependent wildlife and ecosystems
and provide adequate water for any other
state-designated uses. Integral to this theme
is the need to have sufficient availability of
quality water to achieve sustainable societies,
ecosystems and economies. Research into
the protection and maintenance of the chemi-
cal, physical and biological integrity of the
Nation's waters cannot be successful without
some consideration of the need for a sufficient
quantity and quality of water, particularly in the
face of increasing and competing uses associ-
ated with increased housing, food and energy
production, and economic development, which
are compounded by climate variability and
change. Developing a more complete under-
standing of the complex interplay of water
resources and their desired uses is a key,
-------
necessary aspect of sustaining healthy people,
ecosystems and economies into the future.
Research also will include the evaluation of
contaminant risk.
Water quality is affected by naturally occur-
ring contaminants and anthropogenic activi-
ties. Currently, the rate at which waterborne
contaminants are assessed cannot keep pace
with the rate at which new contaminants are
introduced into the environment, potentially im-
pacting human and ecological health. The lack
of environmental and public health assess-
ment data, analytical sensitivity, and an under-
standing of the properties, fate and transport
of new contaminants challenges scientists'
ability to evaluate and prioritize contaminant
risk. Consequently, this affects the Agency's
ability to effectively regulate and manage
these new contaminants. Theme 1 research
focuses on: developing better approaches
to identify, assess and prioritize contaminant
risks; developing new approaches to mini-
mize the impacts of these contaminants on
water resources; and considering the impacts
of climate change and variability—as well as
increased population and changing human
demographics— on water resources.
Science Questions
What factors are most significant and effective
in ensuring the sustainability and integrity of
water resources?
This research will focus on keystone factors
that promote sustainable water resources, as
well as the anthropogenic activities and natural
contamination that threaten the sustainable
quality and quantity of water resources.
What approaches are most effective in mini-
mizing the environmental impacts of naturally-
occurring and anthropogenic contaminants
and different land use practices (e.g., energy
production, mineral extraction and injection
activities, agriculture, urbanization) leading to
the sustainability of surface and subsurface
water resources?
This research will describe current and future
best and cost-effective management practices
that minimize impacts to water resources.
What are the impacts of climate variability and
changing human demographics as stressors
on water quality and availability in freshwater,
estuarine and coastal aquatic ecosystems?
The research on this question, because of the
overarching impact of these stressors on water
systems, has been considered within all of the
SSWR research questions.
Research under Theme 1 also will provide the
data, models and tools to develop a systems
approach to protect and restore the ecological
integrity of water resources within watersheds.
Integrated assessments are an important com-
ponent that can establish the health of water-
sheds and capture the dynamic spatio-tempo-
ral context of aquatic ecosystems and the role
of water interconnectivity in the landscape.
Assessments will require water-use data and
models of stream flows and lake levels for
hydrologic classes across the country. Water
quality gains during the last several decades
are not sustainable without a better under-
standing of aquatic systems and pollutant fate
and effects along with improved technology
and decision-analysis tools.
The research conducted under Theme 1 will
fully implement a systems approach to protect
and restore the ecological integrity of freshwa-
ter, groundwater, coastal waters, watersheds
and wetlands. It also will be focused on meth-
ods to provide sustainable drinking water and
enhance aquatic ecosystems. Such capabil-
ity is required to protect aquatic ecosystems
and human health while addressing a broad
range of 21st-century challenges that include:
hydraulic fracturing, geologic sequestration,
climate change adaptation, alternative fuels
impacts and mountain-top coal mining. Solu-
tions will require integrated approaches involv-
ing improvements to green infrastructure and
water reuse; watershed best management
practices; futures analysis of water use alter-
natives; monitoring, modeling, and analysis for
water quality and drinking water quality; trends
-------
in quality; trading for mitigation; and improved
decision-making support tools. In addition, this
research will support regulatory strategies to
protect human health and aquatic ecosystems
from pathogens, known and emerging chemi-
cal contaminants, and nutrient/sediment pollut-
ants. Furthermore, it will enable recovery and
restoration of impacted waters.
Illustrative Outputs/Products/Outcomes
The following provides illustrative examples of
research outputs from Theme 1.
Example 1: Cost-effective nutrient pollution
reduction strategies. EPA researchers are
establishing safe nutrient levels in aquatic
resources.
Example output: Science-based interpreta-
tion of state narrative nutrient standards
for inland waters as numeric nutrient cri-
teria to prevent eutrophication and aquatic
ecosystem degradation.
Research product contributing to this out-
put: Technical synthesis and approaches for
developing quantitative, measurable standards
that would interpret existing state nutrient crite-
ria such as "water shall be free from materi-
als that impair the waters for any designated
uses."
Expected outcome of the research: To address
the overabundance of nutrients (nitrogen and
phosphorus) in water, EPA's Office of Water
and the States will develop numeric nutri-
ent criteria for water resource protection and
restoration.
Impact
Scientifically defensible regulation of nitrogen
for the protection of the Nation's waters, re-
duction of listings of water quality impairment
resulting from nitrogen on the CWA Section
303(d) List and effective development of
criteria necessary for successful restoration of
impaired waters.
Example 2: Efficient and effective manage-
ment of both known and emerging chemi-
cals of concern.
EPA researchers and their partners are de-
veloping advanced analytical methods and
technologies for prioritizing and assessing
existing chemicals and emerging substances
of concern.
Example 1 output: Dose-response relation-
ships for chemicals of concern.
Product contributing to this output: Methods to
evaluate human health risk (including suscep-
tible populations) to groups of chemicals of
concern.
Expected outcome of the research: The health
risk information on chemical contaminants will
be used by EPA's Office of Water to prioritize
chemical groups for the Contaminant Candi-
date List (CCL) for upcoming listing in CCLs 4
and 5.
Example 2 output: Evaluation of the po-
tential impacts of hydraulic fracturing on
drinking water resources.
Product contributing to this output: Report to
Congress on the potential impacts of hydraulic
fracturing on drinking water resources
Expected outcome of this research: Policy-
makers have sufficient information to ensure
that access to vital energy resources is ac-
complished in a way that the Nation's drinking
water continues to be safe and available for
human consumption.
Impact
1. Provide greater protection for human health
by focusing on the most susceptible popula-
tions and life stages and by regulating groups
of chemicals based on their toxicity rather than
on an individual basis.
2. Ensure that accessing one of the Nation's
most vital energy resources is accomplished in
-------
such a manner that the Nation's drinking water
continues to be safe and available for human
consumption.
Example 3: Fully implement regulatory
strategies to protect human health from
new and emerging pathogens.
EPA researchers are developing the science
needed to support drinking water standards
and other policies that protect people from
waterborne diseases.
Example output: Methodologies and infor-
mation to support improved human health
risk assessment for pathogens, including
cumulative risk with an emphasis on vul-
nerable/susceptible populations.
Product contributing to this output: New or im-
proved methods to measure human exposure
to waterborne pathogens from source waters
and drinking waters.
Expected outcome of this research: Informa-
tion on the health risks of waterborne patho-
gens will be used by EPA's Office of Water to
prioritize pathogen groups for upcoming listing
in CCLs 4 and 5.
Impact
Provide greater protection for human health
by including a focus on the most susceptible
populations and life stages and by identifying
and regulating groups of pathogens.
-------
Research Themes and
Priority Science Questions
Theme 2: Sustainable Water Infrastructure Systems
Ensure that water of sufficient quality is available to meet human uses and needs and
maintain resilient aquatic ecosystems.
Lunioim
Theme 2:
Sustainable Water Infrastucture Systems
Public Health &
Assel Slormwater C'uill I1ILI Ml ties
management attenuation
Integrated ,
system design
A<
Alternative water-
consenting or
water-neutral
lech no I ogles'
Besl management
practices (or water
recovery and storage
Aging infrastructure
maintenance and
replacement
"Green" engineered or
natural infrastructure
Climate-ready
systems
Figure 4. Theme 2 Conceptual Model.
Theme 2 focuses on the use of natural and en-
gineered water infrastructure (Figure 4). More
specifically, water infrastructure management
approaches are needed that optimize the use
of water conservation, wastewater (and grey
water) reuse, groundwater recharge by storm-
water and reclaimed water, green infrastruc-
ture, and energy conservation and resource
recovery.
Conceptually, Figure 4 illustrates the extraction
of freshwater resources from the environment
to support economic activities and provide wa-
ter to communities, the discharge of wastewa-
ter and runoff into the environment for removal
and treatment, the infrastructure systems nec-
essary to manage these flows, and efficiency
considerations in water utilization. In addition,
it identifies relevant services provided by eco-
systems in the watershed such as recreational
amenities, filtration of stormwater run-off, and
flood regulation.
Theme 2 research includes topics concerning
the design, treatment, life cycle analysis, and
best management practices for sustainable
water infrastructure systems; this also in-
cludes their integration into watershed man-
-------
agement for a holistic, systems approach to
integrated water resource management. The
results of this research will allow states, local
governments and municipalities to protect
human health and ecosystem condition while
providing them with the tools and technology
for sustainable drinking water and wastewater
infrastructure management, for water re-use,
to address the impacts of wet-weather dis-
charges, and to reduce the sources of patho-
gens and water pollutants (including invasive
species).
ing high quality waters and restoring degraded
water resources. This will include develop-
ing effective demonstrations of systems
approaches to sustainability; we will initially
demonstrate a systems approach to water-
shed protection focusing on nutrient pollution
in southern New England.
What highly targeted programmatic support is
needed by SSWR's partners?
This research will encompass highly targeted
programmatic support to OW, program offices
and regions, Regional Applied Research Ef-
Science Questions
The science questions to be addressed under forts and pathfinder Innovation Projects.
Theme 2 are:
What are the most effective and sustainable
approaches for maintaining and improving
the natural and engineered water system in a
manner that effectively protects the quantity
and quality of water?
Illustrative Outputs/Products/Outcomes
The following provides illustrative examples of
research outputs and products from Theme 2.
Example 1: Sustainable water infrastruc-
ture that ensures public health protection.
EPA researchers are developing and evaluat-
ing sustainable technologies for water and
wastewater treatment.
Example output: Innovative technologies
This research will use systems analysis tools
at various scales and for different regions of
the United States to take full advantage of the
use of natural ecosystem services and the
built environment to protect and manage wateranc| approaches for small drinking water
resources. and wastewater systems, including those
technologies that combine pollution pre-
How can the Agency effectively manage water vention, water reuse and resource recov-
infrastructure to produce safe and sustainable erVj and have potential economic advan-
water resources from source to drinking water tages with low capital, operations, and
tap to receiving waters? maintenance costs.
This research will focus on developing the nextproc|uct contributing to this output: Innovative
generation of water infrastructure to promote
sustainable water resources from watersheds
to piped systems to receiving waters. This
will include developing effective public/private
partnerships through mechanisms such as
EPA's Water Technology Innovation Cluster.
What effective systems-based approaches
technologies for small water and wastewater
treatment facilities.
Expected outcome of this research: EPA's
Office of Water provides guidance on new and
improved technologies for water and wastewa-
ter to small, publicly-owned treatment works
helping them to meet current regulatory stan-
can be used to identify and manage causes of dards and reduce overall treatment costs while
degraded water resources to promote protec- preserving energy and resources.
tion and recovery?
This research will synthesize research and
approaches across the two SSWR themes to
develop a systems approach aimed at protect-
Impact
More effective, sustainable treatment for small
municipalities' water and wastewater, allowing
-------
them to meet current regulatory standards
and reduce overall treatment costs while
preserving energy and resources.
Example 2: Systems approaches to
reduce impacts of stormwater on aquatic
resources.
EPA scientists are investigating the combined
use of green and gray infrastructure in
the watershed for improved stormwater
management.
Example output: Development of effective,
integrated green and gray infrastructure
approaches to stormwater management at
the sewershed/watershed scale.
Product contributing to this output: Guidance
on municipal-level best management practices
to facilitate increased adoption of green
infrastructure by community stakeholders.
Expected outcome of this research: EPA
provides guidance on the use of green
infrastructure along with gray infrastructure for
stormwater management. The use of green-
gray hybrid approaches provides cost-effective
solutions to consent decree settlements to
redress sewer overflows in violation of the
CWA, and in addition, green infrastructure
provides further social and economic benefits.
Impact
The use of a green-grey hybrid approach
can more cost-effectively provide solutions to
consent decree settlements to redress sewer
overflows in violation of the CWA, and in
addition, the green infrastructure can provide
further social and economic benefits.
Example 3: Understand and address
the impacts of climate change on the
availability and quality of water resources.
EPA scientists are working to develop
innovative tools and technologies for water
management that will increase system
sustainability in the face of droughts, water
shortages, more intense storms, and other
potential impacts of climate change.
Example output: Watershed modeling to
assess climate change impacts on water
resources.
Product contributing to this output: Watershed
models that assess hydrologic and
biogeochemical sensitivity to climate change
and land use change.
Expected outcome of this research: This
research will provide the science to support
implementation of EPA/OWs National Climate
Strategy, which identifies specific actions to
prepare the Nation's water and wastewater
management systems for climate change
impacts.
Impact
Water and wastewater treatment systems
have reduced the vulnerability of their water
resources in the watershed to climate change
and have climate-ready infrastructure.
-------
Conclusion
Adequate water supplies of sufficient quality
are critical to support human health and
aquatic ecosystems, and it underpins the
Nation's health, economy, security and
ecology. Increasing demands are being
placed on the Nation's finite water resources,
and the choices being made influence the
sustainability of these precious resources.
The development of management solutions to
sustain water resources requires the balancing
of water needs for human health, economic
and societal health, and environmental health.
To accomplish this requires sustainable
solutions and an appreciation that all forms
of water are interrelated and connected;
it is all one resource. SSWR's research
embraces this concept from the overarching
conceptual diagram to the interconnection
of the program's themes of Sustainable
Water Resources and Sustainable Water
Infrastructure Systems to the interconnections
of SSWR's science questions. This holistic
approach to research on water resources
will provide the science necessary to inform
the societal choices about maintaining clean,
adequate and equitable supplies of water to
support human well-being and resilient aquatic
ecosystems, now and in the future.
-------
Summary Tables of Outputs and Outcomes
The following tables list the expected outputs from the SSWR Research Program along with the
associated partner outcomes. Although each output is listed under a single theme and science
question, many of them serve to answer multiple questions.
Theme 1. Sustainable Water Resources
Science Question 1.1 : What factors are most significant and effective in ensuring the sustainability and
integrity of water resources?
Outcomes: Improved condition assessment of the Nation's waters in support of OW's CWA305b
reporting requirements; improved approaches to identify, maintain and restore watersheds, aquatic
resource integrity and sustainability as part of OW's Healthy Watersheds Initiative; guidance on
definition of Waters of the U.S.; science to support EPA's National Water Program Strategy on Climate
Change.
Output
SSWR Science Questions
Watershed indices of integrity and sustainability, including those
related to climate change
Ecological Condition Indicators
Diagnostic and stressor indices
Analytical tools for assessment
Watershed classification
Modeled pressures and stressors most responsible for loss of water
resource integrity
Develop improved assessments of multiple interacting causal factors
Improve methods for statistical modeling of individual stressor-
response relationships from observational data given the influence of
other stressors and spatial relationships
Develop models for forecasting and decision making on future water
resource and watershed conditions at multiple scales
Decision support tools to aid development of market based activities
that promote watershed integrity
Interoperability of models
Output
Year
2016
2015
2014
2016
2016
2016
2014
2015
2014
2017
2016
Relevance to other
Theme 1 , SQ 2, 3
Theme 2, SQ 4, 6
Theme 1, SQ 2, 3
Theme 2, SQ 4, 6
Theme 1, SQ 2, 3
Theme 2, SQ 4, 6
Theme 1, SQ 2, 3
Theme 2, SQ 4, 6
Theme 1, SQ 2, 3
Theme 2, SQ 4, 6
Theme 1, SQ 2, 3
Theme 2, SQ 4, 6
Theme 1, SQ 2, 3
Theme 2, SQ 4, 6
Theme1,SQ2, 3
Theme 2, SQ 4, 6
Theme1,SQ2, 3
Theme 2, SQ 4, 6
Theme1,SQ2, 3
Theme 2, SQ 4, 6
Theme1,SQ2, 3
Theme 2, SQ 4, 6
-------
Science Question 1.2: What approaches are most effective at minimizing the environmental impacts
of different land use practices (e.g., energy, mineral extraction, and injection practices, agriculture,
urbanization) leading to the sustainability of surface and subsurface water resources?
Outcomes: Supports Drinking Water and Water Quality standards development (CCL, UCMR,
Regulatory Determination, six year review; aquatic life criteria). Informs nutrient criteria, biosolids
guidance, DIG program, Drinking Water Strategy, energy, mineral, extraction, and injection impacts to
drinking water resources. Informs watershed restoration potential and provides the science to support
EPA's National Water Program Strategy on Climate Change
Output
Conceptual models for sustainable land use (agriculture: crop,
animal production, urban, mixed use: urban/suburban, forest, natural
green) treatment practices (biosolids, dbps) and climate change as
they impact water-resources
Improved diagnostics, including metrics and baselines, to inform
water resource sustainability including contaminant occurrence, land
management decisions, public health and ecological condition
Stressor (including mixed wastes, cumulative impacts and multiple
stressors) -response models (including predictive models) of land
use practices (including urbanization and climate change) on water
quality and quantity for surface and subsurface water resources at a
range of watershed scales and settings
Optimization of land use and treatment practices. Simulations of
innovative solutions, including best management practices (BMPs)
and their improved placement, that minimize the production of
aquatic stressors associated with land uses or climate change and
improve water resource sustainability.
Pathogen indicators and risks associated with land application of
biosolids
Develop analytical and prioritization tools and optimize the
effectiveness of treatment approaches for individual contaminants
Develop analytical and prioritization tools and optimize the
effectiveness of treatment approaches for groups of contaminants
Develop stressor/dose response models and relationships to support
regulatory actions associated with individual contaminants
Develop stressor/dose response models and relationships to support
regulatory actions associated with groups of contaminants
Develop methodologies and information to support improved assess-
ment, including cumulative health risk of individual contaminants
with an emphasis on vulnerable/susceptible populations
Develop methodologies and information to support improved assess-
ment, including cumulative risk of groups of contaminants with an
emphasis on vulnerable/susceptible populations
Development of Numeric Nutrient Criteria and Science-Based Inter-
pretation of Narrative Standards for Inland Waters and Downstream
Estuarine and Coastal Waters
Output
Year
2016
2016
2016
2016
2016
2017
2017
2017
2017
2017
2017
2016
Relevance to other
SSWR Science
Questions
Theme 1,SQ 1,3
Theme 2, SQ 4, 5,6
Theme 1,SQ 1,3
Theme 2, SQ 4, 5,6
Theme 1, SQ 1, 3
Theme 2, SQ 4, 5, 6
Theme 1, SQ 1, 3
Theme 2, SQ 4, 5, 6
Theme 1, SQ1, 3
Theme 2, SQ 4, 5, 6
Theme 1,SQ 1,3
Theme 2, SQ 5, 6
Theme 1,SQ 1,3
Theme 2, SQ 5, 6
Theme 1,SQ 1,3
Theme 2, SQ 5, 6
Theme 1, SQ 1, 3
Theme 2, SQ 5, 6
Theme 1, SQ 1, 3
Theme 2, SQ 5, 6
Theme 1, SQ 1, 3
Theme 2, SQ 5, 6
Theme 1,SQ 1,3
Theme 2, SQ 4, 5,6
-------
Output
Development of Water Quality Simulation Modeling for Managing N
and P Pollution
Decision Support System for Sustainably Managing Nutrients
Improved Assessment Approaches and Biological Indicators to
Assess Responses to N&P and Compliance
Sustainable nutrient removal technologies
Impacts of Hydraulic Fracturing on drinking water resources (See
EPA Study Plan)
Human health implications of mountaintop mining
Recharge of subsurface water resources (aquifer storage and
recovery, ASR)
Output
Year
2016
2016
2016
2016
2015
2012
2016
Relevance to other
SSWR Science
Questions
Theme 1,SQ 1,3
Theme 2, SQ 4, 5,6
Theme 1, SQ 1, 3
Theme 2, SQ 4, 5, 6
Theme 1, SQ 1, 3
Theme 2, SQ 4, 5, 6
Theme 1, SQ 1, 3
Theme 2, SQ 4, 5, 6
Theme 2, SQ 5
Theme 1, SQ 1
Theme 2, SQ 5, 6
Theme 1,SQ 1,3
Theme 2, SQ 5, 6
Science Question 1.3: What are the impacts of climate variability and changing human demographics
on water quality and availability in freshwater, estuarine, coastal aquatic ecosystems? What
approaches are needed to mitigate these impacts?
Outcomes: Science to inform the implementation of EPA/OWs National Water Program Climate
Strategy.
Output
Watershed modeling to assess climate change impacts on water
resources
Output
Year
2016
Relevance to other
SSWR Science
Questions
Theme 1,SQ 1,2
Theme 2, SQ 4, 5,6
-------
Theme 2. Sustainable Water Infrastructure Systems
Science Question 2.1: What are the most effective and sustainable approaches that maintain and
improve the natural and engineered water system in a manner that effectively protects the quantity and
quality of water?
Outcomes: Improved municipal consent decrees for CSO control policy; support for MS4 stormwater
discharge policy; supports Chesapeake Bay Executive Order Implementation and science to inform the
implementation of EPA/OWs National Water Program Climate Strategy.
Output
Develop effective integrated green and gray approaches at the
sewershed/watershed scale
Measure effectiveness of green/gray infrastructure to improve
hydrologic cycles, reduce runoff, and reduce risk for the green/gray
approach
Identify key data gaps regarding BMP Performance (e.g., regional
relevance, types of Gl BMPs, longevity of performance, etc)
Improve designs and reliability for Gl under regionally-relevant
conditions
Determine Gl BMP impacts on aquatic ecosystems and function at
the watershed scale
Establish databases on green BMPs performance for stormwater
management under regionally-relevant conditions
Reliably predict natural infrastructure and engineered green
infrastructure water quality impacts at watershed scale.
Develop predictive modeling tools for the design of integrated green/
gray infrastructure for use in urban watersheds
Improved water conveyance technologies and innovative
approaches to monitor, assess treatment effectiveness and manage
current, and replace aging, water infrastructure
Determine effectiveness of health protection and evaluate innovative
and flexible design, construction, and treatment approaches and
technologies for problems faced by small and disadvantaged
systems
Improved water conveyance technologies and innovative
approaches to assess and replace/rehabilitate aging water
infrastructure
Better monitoring methods and models for infrastructure systems
Output
Year
2014
2014
2015
2015
2016
2014
2014
2014
2015
2015
2016
2016
Relevance to other
SSWR Science
Questions
Theme 1,SQ1,2, 3
Theme 2, SQ 5, 6
Theme 1,SQ 1,2, 3
Theme 2, SQ 5, 6
Theme 1,SQ 1,2, 3
Theme 2, SQ 5, 6
Theme 1,SQ 1,2, 3
Theme 2, SQ 5, 6
Theme 1,SQ1,2, 3
Theme 2, SQ 5, 6
Theme 1,SQ1,2, 3
Theme 2, SQ 5, 6
Theme 1,SQ1,2, 3
Theme 2, SQ 5, 6
Theme 1,SQ 1,2, 3
Theme 2, SQ 5, 6
Theme 1,SQ 2,3
Theme 2, SQ 4, 6
Theme 1,SQ 2,3
Theme 2, SQ 4, 6
Theme 1, SQ 2, 3
Theme 2, SQ 4, 6
Theme 1, SQ 2, 3
Theme 2, SQ 4, 6
-------
Science Question 2.2: How do we effectively manage water infrastructure to produce safe and
sustainable water resources from source to drinking water tap to receiving waters?
Outcomes: Next generation of innovative water and wastewater technology and conveyance systems
that support OW guidance and permitting programs for POTWs; reduce small system drinking water
treatment non-compliance.
Output
Development of assessment frameworks with appropriate tools and metrics
for integrating sustainability into water service option selection, and asset
management practices, at different scales and levels of investigation
Develop novel infrastructure comparisons that address public health, societal/
economic and ecological water needs
Develop decision support tools, including economic considerations, that allow
comparison between status quo and novel/alternative water service approaches
(i.e., for drinking water, waste water/stormwater, water reuse, and their
associated conveyance systems) and that allow scaling from small communities
to river basins.
Protocols and metrics for developing and demonstrating sustainability
assessment framework as applied to treatment, including climate ready designs
Advanced technologies for energy efficiency and recovery at DW treatment and
wastewater facilities
Develop innovative technologies and approaches for small drinking water and
waste water systems including those that combine pollution prevention, water
reuse, resource recovery and potential economic advantages with low capital,
operations and maintenance costs
Water Technology Innovation Cluster: Develop sustainable processes for
contaminant (including nutrient) removal below the limits of current technologies
that minimizes costs, energy consumption, environmental burden, chemical
consumption, and associated greenhouse gases production
Identify and develop and demonstrate technologies that optimize recovery of
energy, nutrients, and water within water systems
Improved water conveyance technologies and innovative approaches to monitor,
assess treatment effectiveness and manage current, and replace aging, water
infrastructure
Determine effectiveness of health protection and evaluate innovative and flexible
design, construction, and treatment approaches and technologies for problems
faced by small and disadvantaged systems
Improved water conveyance technologies and innovative approaches to assess
and replace/rehabilitate aging water infrastructure
Better monitoring methods and models for infrastructure systems
Output Year
2013
2013
2015
2015
2015
2014
2016
2015
2015
2015
2016
2016
-------
Science Question 2.3: What effective systems-based approaches can be used to identify and manage
causes of degraded water resources?
Outcomes: Improved governance options based on a systems approach to watershed protection and
restoration
Output
Develop and demonstrate at the watershed scale approaches for
determining condition, resilience, restorability, diagnostics and
system level models
Develop decision level support tools leading to resource
sustainability at the watershed level
Evaluate effectiveness of a systems approach to watershed
protection and restoration
Output
Year
2015
2016
2017
Relevance to other
SSWR Science
Questions
Theme 1, SQ 2, 3
Theme 2, SQ 4, 5, 6
Theme 1, SQ 2, 3
Theme 2, SQ 4, 5, 6
Theme 1, SQ 2, 3
Theme 2, SQ 4, 5, 6
Science Question 2.4: What research and expertise are needed to address highly targeted
program and regional issues along with new innovative research problems impacting water
resources?
Outcomes: Highly targeted program and regional science needs are met. New innovative approaches
are developed to address water resource issues.
Highly targeted programmatic support
RARE Projects
Pathforward Innovation Projects
ongoing
2014
2012
Varies
Varies
Pathforward
Innovation
-------
References
Binswanger HC and RN Chakraborty, 2000.
Economics of Resource Management.
University of St. Gallen, Institute for Economy
and the Environment. Paper commissioned by
the European Commission.
Fiksel, F, R Bruins, A Gilliland, A Gatchett, and
M ten Brink, 2012. The Triple Value Model: A
Systems Approach to Sustainable Solutions.
Clean Technology and Environmental Policy,
(accepted).
Kirmeyer, GJ, W Richards, and CD Smith,
1994. An Assessment of Water Distribution
Systems and Associated Research Needs.
AWWA Research Foundation. Denver, CO.
89 pp. p. xv, Table ES.2 Key Facts and
Figures Related to Water Distribution Systems
in the United States as of 1992.
NRC, 2004. Confronting the Nation's
Water Problems: the Role of Research.
National Academies Press, 500 Fifth St. NW,
Washington, D.C. 324 pp. http://www.nap.edu/
catalog. php?record_id= 11031
US EPA, 2004. Report to Congress: Impacts
and Control of CSOs and SSOs. US
Environmental Protection Agency EPA 833-
R-04-001. http://cfpub.epa.gov/npdes/cso/
cpolicy_report2004.cfm
US EPA, 2006. Draft Wadeable Streams
Assessment: A Collaborative Survey of
the Nation's Streams. EPA841-B-06-002.
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency,
Office of Water and Office of Research and
Development, Washington, D.C.
US EPA, 2009a. National Lakes Assessment:
A Collaborative Survey of the Nation's Lakes.
EPA841-R-09-001. U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency, Office of Water and Office
of Research and Development, Washington,
D.C.
US EPA, 2009b. National Water Program
Research Strategy 2009-2014. US
Environmental Protection Agency September
30. 57 pp. (www.epa.gov/waterscience/
strategy)
US EPA, 2011 a. Coming Together for Clean
Water. EPA's Strategy to Protect America's
Waters. (https://blog.epa.gov/waterforum/wp-
content/uploads/2011/04/ComingTogether-for-
Clean-Water-FINAL.pdf)
US EPA, 2011 b. EPA FY2011-2015 Strategic
Plan, http://intranet.epa.gov/ocfo/plan/plan.htm
United States Geological Survey (USGS),
2005. Estimated Use of Water in the United
States in 2000, U.S. Department of the
Interior, USGS Fact Sheet 2005-3051, p. 2,
Denver, CO, Sep/2005.
Yoder J, V Roverts, G Craun, V Hill, LA Hicks,
NT Alexander, V Radke, RLCalderon, MC
Hlavsa, MJ Beach, and SL Roy, 2008. Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
Surveillance for waterborne disease and
outbreaks associated with drinking water and
water not intended for drinking—United States,
2005-2006. MMWR Surveillance Summary.
Sept12;57(9):39-62
-------
List of Acronyms
ACE Air Climate and Energy
ACoE Army Corps of Engineers
CAFO Concentrated Animal Feedlot Operation
CCL Contaminant Candidate List
CDCP Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
CSO Combined Sewer Overflow
CSS Chemical Safety for Sustainability
DoE Department of Energy
DW Drinking Water
HABs Harmful Algal Bloom
HH Human Health
HHRA Human Health Risk Assessment
ITR IntegratedTransdisciplinary Research
LAE Large Aquatic Ecosystems
NARS National Aquatic Resource Survey
NERL National Exposure Research Laboratory
NHEERL National Health and Environmental Effects Research Laboratory
NIH National Institutes of Health
NOAA National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
NPDES National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System
NRMRL National Risk Management Research Laboratory
OGWDW Office of Ground Water and Drinking Water
ORD Office of Research and Development
ORMA Office of Resources Management and Administration
OST Office of Science and Technology
OW Office of Water
OWM Office of Wastewater Management
OWOW Office of Wetlands, Oceans and Watersheds
PH Public Health
POTW Public Owned Treatment Works
PPCP Pharmaceuticals and Personal Care Products
SHC Sustainable and Healthy Communities
SSO Sanitary Sewer Overflow
SSWR Safe and Sustainable Water Resources
UAA Use Attainability Analysis
UCMR Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Rule
UIC Underground Injection Control
USDA United States Department of Agriculture
USFWS United States Fish and Wildlife Service
USGS United States Geological Survey
WQ Water Quality
-------
Research Program Partners and
Stakeholders
EPA Program Partners Chris Moore, OWM
Karma Anderson, Region 10 Edward Ohanian, OW
Andrea Bolks, Region 5 Margaret Osbourne, Region 6
Eric Burneson, OGWDW Mike Overbay, Region 6
Tom Davenport, Region 5 Roberta Parry, OW
Chris Faulkner, OWOW Jim Pendergast, OWOW
Miguel Flores, Region 6 Sean Porse, OGWDW
Marjorie Jones, OW; ORD Stig Regli, OGWDW
Ron Landy, Region 3 Mary Reiley, OST
Jennifer Meints, Region 8 Robert Todd, Region 6
Jatin Mistry, Region 6 Phil Zahreddine, OWM
External Stakeholders
Jose Aguto, National Congress of American Indians
Charles Bott, Hampton Roads Sanitation District
Erica Brown, Association of Metropolitan Water Agencies
Gary Burlingame, Philadelphia Water Department
Mary Buzby, Merck
Vic D'Amato, Tetra Tech
Josh Dickinson, Water Reuse Foundation
Joseph Fiksel, Center for Resilience, Ohio State University
Cynthia Finley, National Association of Clean Water Agencies
Suzy Friedman, Environmental Defense
Paul Gruber, National Ground Water Association
Clif McClellan, National Sanitation Foundation
Eileen McClellan, Environmental Defense
Sudhir Murthy, DC Water
Valerie Nelson, Water Alliance
Darrell Osterhoudt, National Association of State Drinking Water Administrators
Chris Rayburn, Water Research Foundation
Christine Reimer, National Ground Water Association
Glenn Reinhardt, Water Environment Research Foundation
Rob Renner, Water Research Foundation
Barbara Sattler, University of Maryland School of Nursing
Perry Schafer, Brown and Caldwell
Udah Singh, CH2MHHI
Paul Schwartz, Clean Water Action
Leslie Shoemaker, Tetra Tech
Chi Chung Tang, LA County Sanitation Districts
Ed Thomas, National Rural Water Association
Laurens Van der Tak, CH2MHHI
Steve Via, American Water Works Association
Jane Wilson, National Sanitation Foundation
Dan Woltering, Water Environment research Foundation
Doug Yoder, Miami-Dade Water and Sewer Department
-------
List of Definitions
Aquatic-dependent wildlife- organisms (including plants) that live on or in the water for some
portion of their life-cycle, or for which a significant portion of their diet is made up of those that
do, or that are dependent on, at least occasionally, water-inundated habitat for survival, growth,
and reproduction.
Contaminant- a contaminant is defined by the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) as "any physi-
cal, chemical, biological, or radiological substance or matter in water" (U.S. Senate, 2002; 40
CFR 141.2). This broad definition of contaminant includes every substance that may be found
dissolved or suspended in water—everything but the water molecule itself. Therefore, the pres-
ence of a contaminant in water does not necessarily mean that there is a human health concern.
Ecosystem Services- benefits supplied to human societies by the natural environment.
These services are represented by processes by which the environment produces resources
such as clean water, timber, habitat for fisheries, and pollination of native and agricultural plants.
Greenhouse Gas Mitigation - practices to reduce net concentration of greenhouse gases in
the atmosphere through, for example, reduced energy use, water use, geological or biological
or chemical sequestration of carbon dioxide, or by producing alternative low-emission energies
and fuels.
Infrastructure:
Built Infrastructure - use of grey infrastructure, i.e., pipes and conveyances that do not
make use of natural systems
Green Infrastructure - engineered systems that make use of natural waterways and
other natural systems that complement traditional systems to manage land use impacts
on hydrology
Natural green infrastructure - natural ecosystem components that function to capture
and retain water, and remove some level of natural and anthropogenic substances from
the water
Natural Infrastructure - natural environment, not engineered or manipulated by human
design
Integrated Water Resource Management - a voluntary collaboration of state, interstate, local,
and tribal governments across water sectors to manage the quality and quantity of water re-
sources sustainably within watersheds and underlying aquifers.
Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) - a systematic approach to the identification of a product's total
impacts on the environment, accounting for all the inputs and outputs throughout the life cycle
of that product from its genesis (including design, raw material extraction, material production,
production of its parts, and assembly) through its use and final disposal.
-------
Non Point Source Pollution - Source of pollution in which wastes are not released at one spe-
cific, identifiable point but from a number of points that are spread out and difficult to identify and
control
Output - outputs are synthesized and/or translated Products that are delivered to the Partner/
Stakeholder in the format needed by the Partner. Outputs should be defined, to the extent pos-
sible, by Partners/Stakeholders during Problem Formulation and are responsive to Program
Office/Stakeholder need. The date a Partner/Stakeholder needs to use the output should drive
the output delivery date.
Partner/Stakeholder Outcome - the expected results, consequences that a Partner or Stake-
holder will be able to accomplish due to ORD research.
Point Source Pollution - any discernible, confined and discrete conveyance, including but not
limited to any pipe, ditch, channel, tunnel, conduit, well, discrete fissure, container, rolling stock,
concentrated animal feeding operation, or vessel or other floating craft, from which pollutants
are or may be discharged. This term does not include agricultural stormwater discharges and
return flows from irrigated agriculture.
Pollutant-as defined in Clean Water Act Sec. 502(6), a pollutant means dredged soil, solid
waste, incinerator residue, sewage, garbage, sewage sludge, munitions, chemical wastes, bio-
logical materials, radioactive materials, heat, wrecked or discarded equipment, rock, sand, cellar
dirt, and industrial, municipal, and agricultural waste discharged into water.
Product - a product is a deliverable that results from a specific Research Project or Research
Task. Products may include (not an exhaustive list) journal articles, reports, databases, test re-
sults, methods, models, publications, technical support, workshops, best practices, patents, etc.
One or more products may require translation or synthesis to be considered an Output.
Resilience- the capacity of a system to survive, adapt, and flourish in the face of turbulent
change.
Sustainability - to create and maintain conditions, under which humans and nature can exist in
productive harmony, that permit fulfilling the social, economic, and other requirements of present
and future generations (from the National Environmental Policy Act, 1970).
Sustainable solution - a system intervention that offers measurable improvements in an
integrated set of sustainability indicators (economic, social, and environmental) such that the
projected outcomes are valued by stakeholders in the affected system or systems.
Water resources - a general term encompassing all water types that may include groundwater,
lakes, streams, rivers, wetlands, drinking water, estuaries, coastal waters, and marine waters.
Watershed- a topographically delimited area, scale independent, which drains surface and
subsurface water to a common outlet. The hydrological system within a watershed is comprised
of precipitation inputs, surface water (e.g., streams, rivers, lakes), soil water, and groundwater;
vegetation and land use greatly affect these processes.
-------
Healthy Watershed- a well-functioning watershed that has a high integrity (see definition
below) and is resilient to stress (see definition below).
Watershed integrity - refers to the overall biological, physical, and chemical condition of the
watershed being unimpaired, interconnected, and stable.
Watershed resiliency - refers to a watershed's ability to maintain its structure and function in
the presence of stress.
------- |