RAPID: Extreme water use patterns and their impact on the microbial and chemical ecology of drinking water.

RAPID：极端用水模式及其对饮用水微生物和化学生态的影响。

• 批准号: 2029850
• 负责人: Kelsey Pieper
• 金额: $ 19.93万
• 依托单位: Northeastern University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2020
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2020-05-15 至 2022-04-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2029850&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: RAPID; Extreme; water; use; patterns

The COVID-19 pandemic has infected over a million people in the United States to date. Stay-at-home orders and the closing of non-essential businesses have been implemented in many municipalities to limit the spread of COVID-19. An unintentional impact of these interventions is a drastic change in where and how much drinking water is used. For example, water use in commercial buildings has decreased while water use in homes has increased. There is limited understanding of how changes in water use across densely populated cities impact drinking water quality, and what actions must be taken to lower any potential risks. Changes in water use can change the type and number of chemicals or harmful organisms present in the system, affecting water quality and public health. The primary goal of this RAPID project is to understand the effect of drastic changes in water use patterns across residential and commercial locations on the quality of drinking water. Drinking water quality will be monitored at multiple residential and commercial locations in the City of Boston, during and after the pandemic. Results from this study will have a direct impact on post-COVID-19 recovery. Results inform efforts to protect public health and water infrastructure in future scenarios where water use patterns change drastically over short time periods.Stay-at-home advisories and related cessation of all non-essential businesses in response to the global COVID-19 pandemic have dramatically altered drinking water use patterns across the United States. An unintended consequence of these changes is the potential public health concerns of water non-use. Specifically, water use in commercial buildings has decreased dramatically, leading to extended stagnation and loss of disinfection capacity. Stagnation can lead to the growth of biofilms in plumbing containing opportunistic pathogens or corrosion due to the potential for anoxic/anaerobic conditions. At the same time, water use in homes has increased greatly which may also affect biofilms in building plumbing. The objectives of this RAPID project are to determine the impact of (1) changes in water use patterns on the microbial and chemical ecology of drinking water; and (2) growth of biofilms on the bulk water microbial community as a function of varying water use patterns. The research team will leverage ongoing efforts at chemical and integrated metagenomic monitoring of drinking water in the City of Boston to address the project objectives. In the short-term, this research will generate much-needed data and insights to inform recommissioning strategies. This is particularly important in the short-term as the individuals suffering or recovering from COVID-19 may be exposed to opportunistic respiratory pathogens from drinking water. Results will also inform guidance for water utilities on flushing and disinfecting water that was not used in large commercial buildings during the public heath interventions. In the long term, the ability to compare the impact of extreme changes in water use patterns on the chemical and microbial ecology of drinking water in a full-scale drinking water system has the potential to significantly enhance understanding of the biological stability of drinking water. Thus, results from this study will have a direct impact on post-COVID-19 recovery while also leveraging the current situation to provide lasting advances in drinking water quality management.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

到目前为止，新冠肺炎大流行已在美国感染了100多万人。为了遏制新冠肺炎的蔓延，许多城市已经实施了在家下单和关闭不必要的业务。这些干预措施的一个无意影响是，饮用水的使用地点和数量发生了巨大变化。例如，商业建筑的用水量减少了，而家庭用水量增加了。对于人口稠密城市用水的变化如何影响饮用水质量，以及必须采取哪些行动来降低任何潜在风险，人们的理解有限。水使用的变化可能会改变系统中存在的化学品或有害生物的类型和数量，从而影响水质和公众健康。这个快速项目的主要目标是了解住宅和商业地点用水模式的急剧变化对饮用水质量的影响。在大流行期间和之后，将在波士顿的多个住宅和商业地点监测饮用水质量。这项研究的结果将对后新冠肺炎的恢复产生直接影响。这些结果为在未来用水模式在短时间内发生巨大变化的情况下保护公共健康和水基础设施的努力提供了信息。针对全球新冠肺炎大流行的居家建议和相关停止所有非必要企业的做法极大地改变了美国各地的饮用水使用模式。这些变化的一个意想不到的后果是不使用水可能带来的公共卫生问题。具体地说，商业建筑的用水量大幅减少，导致长期停滞和丧失消毒能力。停滞可导致管道中含有机会性病原体的生物膜的生长，或由于潜在的缺氧/厌氧条件而造成的腐蚀。与此同时，家庭用水量大幅增加，这可能也会影响建筑管道中的生物膜。这一快速项目的目标是确定(1)用水模式的变化对饮用水微生物和化学生态的影响；(2)不同用水模式对散装水微生物群落的生物膜生长的影响。研究小组将利用波士顿饮用水化学和综合元基因组监测方面正在进行的努力，以实现项目目标。短期内，这项研究将产生急需的数据和见解，为再承诺战略提供参考。这在短期内尤其重要，因为患有新冠肺炎或正在康复的人可能会从饮用水中接触到机会呼吸道病原体。结果还将指导自来水公司在公共卫生干预期间未在大型商业建筑中使用的水的冲洗和消毒。从长远来看，能够比较用水模式的极端变化对全规模饮用水系统中饮用水的化学和微生物生态的影响，有可能显著提高对饮用水生物稳定性的了解。因此，这项研究的结果将对新冠肺炎事件后的恢复产生直接影响，同时也将利用当前的形势，在饮用水质量管理方面提供持久的进步。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并已通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。