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- Occurrence of Organic Micropollutants in the San Juan River in Northwest New Mexico and their Removal during Drinking Water Treatment
Occurrence of Organic Micropollutants in the San Juan River in Northwest New Mexico and their Removal during Drinking Water Treatment
Project ID: 19192
Principal Investigator: Anthony Kennedy
Research Topic: Desalination and Water Treatment
Funded Fiscal Years:
2019,
2020 and
2021
Keywords: None
Research Question
What is the spatial and temporal occurrence of OMPs and PFASs in the SJR and CR in northwest New Mexico? Which commercially available GAC products are most effective at removing OMPs and PFAS following conventional drinking water treatment? How do seasonal changes in SJR and CR background dissolved organic matter (DOM) impact OMP and PFAS removal?
Need and Benefit
Need:
As the project leader for the NGWSP, USBR needs to be informed on important water quality issues for the NGWSP
DWTPs and the population they will serve.
If requested, USBR can provide specific information to NGWSP stakeholders that OMPs and PFASs were considered
for the NGWSP DWTPs. Should other water supply projects like the NGWSP become the responsibility of USBR,
internal knowledge and data from this project will be needed to ensure complete thought is given to DWTP design. As
a water supplier to millions of people, USBR needs to be a leader in water supply and therefore public health
protection, including conducting relevant research in water treatment and providing solutions for removing OMPs and
PFASs from the environment altogether. There is a continued need in the field of water treatment, including water
reuse, to identify OMP and PFAS occurrence and technologies that economically remove them from drinking water,
wastewater, and reclaimed water.
Benefit:
If OMP and PFAS removal is identified as a treatment objective (which this project could help determine) of the
NGWSP DWTPs, this project will directly allow USBR to critically evaluate consultant proposals and bids related to the
DWTP processes and their sizing, which has the potential to prevent unnecessary spending. The fields of water
treatment, including water reuse, and public health will benefit from the dissemination of knowledge gained from this
study. USBR will benefit from learning how to identify sources of OMPs and PFAS in order to take steps to protect
water supplies.
Urgency:
The Cutter Lateral DWTP as part of the NGWSP is currently at 60% design and the San Juan Lateral DWTP will soon
be in final design phases. OMP and PFAS concentrations are likely rising in western surface waters as prolonged
droughts and increasing population are significantly affecting water quantity and quality.
Contributing Partners
Contact the Principal Investigator for information about partners.
Research Products
Please contact research@usbr.gov about research products related to this project.
