science in ACTION
INNOVATIVE RESEARCH FOR A SUSTAINABLE FUTURE
www.epa.gov/research
Ei y-lJ mii
CiiiJsjxiiiiUi, OH
Introduction
The Test and Evaluation Facility (T&E) in Cincinnati, Ohio,
is a versatile high bay facility for the research and
development of new technologies related to water and
waste monitoring, treatment, and control systems. T&E
allows scientists to study drinking water contaminants,
biosensors, and small systems, and verify water security
monitoring and treatment technologies. Research at T&E
provides the scientific foundation to support EPA's
programs in drinking water, wastewater, and water
systems security and resilience. This research has con-
tributed to the development and use of technologies and
strategies for monitoring and controlling water contam-
inants resulting from natural and man-made incidents.
Research is performed under three of EPA's six National
Research Programs:
Safe and Sustainable Water Resources
Homeland Security
Sustainable and Healthy Communities
Facility and Staff
Facility: Located at Cincinnati Metropolitan Sewer
District's Mill Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP),
T&E has a 24,000 ft2 high bay area for bench-, pilot-, and
full-scale research; 14,000 ft2 of supporting office, chemi-
cal storage and analytical lab spaces; a greenhouse; and
a machine shop.
Staff: Eight federal employees, 14 contractors, and
several students and post-docs perform research at T&E.
Unique Facility Features
The facility's proximity to the WWTP enables
researchers to conduct real-time experiments on
various wastewater streams.
T&E is part of the Water Environment & Reuse
Foundation's FAST Water Network (Facilities
Accelerating Science & Technology), which connects
researchers and new technology providers with test
facilities to accelerate the adoption of innovative
technologies.
The facility is available for private and public sector
collaborators, including:
other government agencies via interagency
agreements and
academic institutions and private clients via
a third-party contract or a Cooperative Research
and Development Agreement under the Federal
Technology Transfer Act Amendment.
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Office of Research and Development
The T&E Facility's High Bay Experimental Area
October 2017 EPA/600/F-17/001

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T&E Capabilities
The T&E Facility has large, versatile spaces allowing for a
variety of experimental configurations. This multi-purpose
facility is equipped to simultaneously study a variety of
wastewater and drinking water treatment processes and
systems, and to study innovative hazardous waste
treatment technologies utilizing the Resource Conservation
and Recovery Act (RCRA) treatability study exemption.
Facility features include:
heated high bay experimental area with 35-ft ceiling;
two 5-ton bridge cranes for moving large
equipment;
full-scale hydrant and telemetry system;
Science Contributions
wastewater and chlorinated, dechlorinated, recycled,
and deionized water supplies to 16 experimental work
areas;
holding tanks with leak monitoring and alarm
capability, including an automatic supply and drainage
shutdown system;
fully climate-controlled biosafety level 2, process,
organic, instrument, and chemistry laboratories;
machine shop (700 ft2) for fabricating specialty items;
greenhouse (275 ft2) for agricultural studies, and
two 12 x 12 ft controlled environmental chambers for
simulating outdoor conditions.
T&E's unique capability for bench- and large pilot-scale research is a critical link to EPA's ability to design and fabricate
innovative solutions - tested in a safe environment without public health risk - and apply them to real-world
challenges. Research at T&E provides water and wastewater systems operators with tested tools and technologies that
can be scaled up at treatment plants and in water distribution systems.
Active research topics include:
Drinking water and wastewater simulations to
understand decontamination and persistence of
contaminants in treatment and distribution systems.
Real-time remote and smart water quantity/quality
sensors for treatment and distribution systems.
Innovative membrane materials and membrane-based
processes for desalination and organic solvent
reclamation/reuse.
Emergency mobile treatment systems to provide
potable water to residents and responders following
disasters.
Treatment of contaminated water for disposal resulting
from wide-area decontamination activities following a
natural disaster or intentional event.
Source water early warning monitoring and detection
technology.
Contaminant persistence and performance of disinfec-
tion and flushing methods in aircraft water systems.
Alternative wastewater treatment and decontamination
approaches, including peracetic acid and ultraviolet
technologies.
Notable scientific products and achievements include:
Improved the ability of water utilities to detect
contamination and better protect public health by:
testing commercial, off-the-shelf water quality
sensors used to monitor water utility operations;
developing technologies for decontamination of
drinking water and wastewater systems, and
designing, developing, and evaluating:
small community drinking water treatment
and sensor systems,
technologies for removal of Cryptosporidium,
B. globigli, and algal toxins in water, and
aquatic organisms as early warning indicators
of harmful algal blooms in source waters.
Completed performance evaluations of point-of-entry
and point-of-use devices for removal of microbiological
contaminants from tap water.
Developed energy efficient processes to recover
solvents and alcohol biofuels from dilute solutions.
Verified EPANET, a water distribution system modeling
software, via T&E's pilot-scale distribution system.
T&E Contact:
Josh Weber, weber.iosh@epa.aov. (513) 569-7845
2
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Office of Research arid Development
October 2017 EPA/600/F-17/001

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