Integrated Drinking Water and Water Quality Research Program

1. Integrate the existing Drinking Water and Water Quality research programs into one holistic program that maximizes responsiveness to the needs of OW, Regional, and critical water resource partners and stakeholders • SSWR 2

2. SSWR Development Process… Develop Research Portfolio Develop Research Action Plan Develop Problem Formula-tion Draft Research Frame-work 4

3. OW/Region Problems Focal Problem Workshop - Dec Integrated Themes 5

4. Working Draft Problem Statement: Increasing demands for sources of clean water combined with land use practices, growth, aging infrastructure, and climate variability pose significant threats to our Nation's water resources. Failure to manage our Nation's waters in an integrated, sustainable manner will limit economic prosperity and jeopardize both human and aquatic ecosystem health. Working Draft Vision: SSWR uses an integrated, systems approach 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. 6

5. GW

6. Economic Prosperity Public Health CLIMATE CHANGE economic valueis created for society labor is utilized in industry Water is utilized by society Water is utilized by industry including agriculture Some water is recovered and recycled Water and pollution returns to the environment ENVIRONMENT ENERGY 7 Aquatic Ecosystems

7. Next Steps: • Draft Research Framework by Mid Feb • Develop Research Portfolio - Mar-April • Draft Research Action Plan – April - July • Implement Program Oct 1 • https://SSWR. – Coming soon 17

8. Draft Research Themes, Drivers, and Key Research Questions • Theme 1. – Ensure the holistic protection and restoration of watersheds to provide safe and sustainable water quality necessary for human and ecosystem health. • Drivers: Decreasing availability of water of suitable quality as a result of short-sighted planning combined with an overcommitment of competing human uses associated with increased housing, food and energy production, economic development lead to adverse and unsustainable impacts on water quality. 8

9. Theme 1 continued Key Research Questions: • What metrics and monitoring approaches are needed to produce innovative, rapid, integrated assessments of the current health of the nation’s watersheds with sufficient spatial resolution to allow for effective adaptive management? (Nutrients, Pathogens, & Sediment; Water Ecosystem Protection; Chemical/Industrial Processes) • How can we develop more rapid, effective approaches to reducing nitrogen, phosphorus, and sediment pollution in our water resources at a regional watershed level to better protect human and aquatic ecosystem health, without being overly restrictive? (Nutrients, Pathogens, & Sediment; Ag-Food&Energy; Water Ecosystem Protection) • What are the new, innovative approaches for identifying, assessing the risk of, and regulating chemicals and pathogens as groups to provide better and faster protection of human and aquatic ecosystem health? (Nutrients, Pathogens, & Sediment; Ag-Food & Energy; Water Ecosystem Protection; Chemical/Industrial Processes; Built Infrastructure) 9

10. Theme 1. Key Science Questions Continued • What innovative, integrated, cost-effective approaches to water resource protection, intervention, and restoration activities can be developed for watersheds? (Nutrients, Pathogens, & Sediment; Ag-Food & Energy; Water Ecosystem Protection; Built Infrastructure) • What tools, models or other innovative approaches are needed to assess the effectiveness of various best management practices used to reduce nonpoint sources of pollution? (Nutrients, Pathogens, & Sediment; Ag-Food & Energy; Water Ecosystem Protection) 10

11. Draft Research Themes, Drivers, and Key Research Questions • Theme 2. – Ensure sustainable water quality and availability to support the needs of healthy humans, ecosystems, and economies. • Drivers: Increasing demands are being placed on a finite water resource to supply drinking water and other societal needs including energy, agriculture, and industry, as well as aquatic ecosystem needs in the face of climate variability. • Key Research Questions: • What are the current status and likely trends in the quantities and qualities of our regional groundwater and surface water used for drinking water, energy production, agriculture, aquatic dependent plants and wildlife, and recreation? (Energy and Materials Extraction/Injection; Nutrients, Pathogens, & Sediment; Ag-Food & Energy; Water Ecosystem Protection; Chemical/Industrial Processes; Built Infrastructure) 11

12. Theme 2 Key Questions Continued • How can the competing demands for water for electric power generation, agricultural use, industrial processes, wildlife, and drinking water be met sustainably and equitably? (Energy and Materials Extraction/Injection; Ag-Food & Energy; Water Ecosystem Protection; Chemical/Industrial Processes; Built Infrastructure) • How do these demands change with climate variability and changing human demographics? (Nutrients, Pathogens,& Sediment; Ag-Food & Energy; Water Ecosystem Protection; Chemical/Industrial Processes; Built Infrastructure) • How do we promote changes in human values and behaviors to ensure current water usage maintains safe, sustainable future supplies? (Water Ecosystem Protection) 12

13. Draft Research Themes, Drivers, and Key Research Questions • Theme 3. – Ensure water infrastructure is capable of the sustained delivery of safe drinking water, provides for the removal and treatment of wastewater consistent with its sustainable and safe re-use, and manages stormwater in a sustainable manner and that values and manages stormwater as a component of a sustainable water resources. • Drivers: Rapidly changing human demographics, combined with age, historic neglect, and rapidly escalating costs are limiting the effective and efficient innovative replacement of aging or inadequate water infrastructure. 13

14. Theme 3 continued Key Research Questions: • How can we better assess the current condition and sustainability of our existing drinking water and wastewater infrastructure? • What current environmental and human health issues are associated with our declining water and wastewater infrastructure? (Nutrients, Pathogens, & Sediment; Built Infrastructure) • What are the new innovative technologies and approaches that can mitigate or replace the current aging infrastructure for drinking water and wastewater treatment and conveyance? (Water Ecosystem Protection; Built Infrastructure) • How do climate variations impact water infrastructure? (Built Infrastructure) 14

15. Theme 3 continued Key Research Questions: • What innovative water and wastewater treatment technologies will be required to reduce the human and environmental health risk from new and emerging chemicals and pathogens? (Nutrients, Pathogens, & Sediment; Chemical/Industrial Processes; Built Infrastructure) • How cost-effective is source water-watershed protection and green infrastructure remediation in reducing raw treatment costs? (Nutrients, Pathogens, & Sediment; Water Ecosystem Protection; Built Infrastructure) • What effective, innovative uses of green infrastructure can lead to a reduction in urban stormwater and water pollutants entering our water resources? (Nutrients, Pathogens, & Sediment; Water Ecosystem Protection; Chemical/Industrial Processes ) 15

16. Theme 3 Key Questions continued • What new, innovative, integrated approaches and technologies can be developed to produce carbon-, nitrogen-, and energy-neutral urban water and wastewater treatment? (Water Ecosystem Protection; Chemical/Industrial Processes; Built Infrastructure) • How do we effectively inform public values and perceptions to ensure support for increased sustainability of our water resources through wastewater reuse and environmentally sound management of biosolids? (Nutrients, Pathogens, & Sediment; Ag-Food & Energy; Water Ecosystem Protection; Chemical/Industrial Processes; Built Infrastructure) • What new, innovative, affordable, and protective treatment technologies can be developed for small systems? (Nutrients, Pathogens, & Sediment; Water Ecosystem Protection; Chemical/Industrial Processes; Built Infrastructure) 16