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

COVID-19大流行迄今已在美国感染超过100万人。许多城市已实施居家令和关闭非必要企业，以限制COVID-19的传播。这些干预措施的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，而家庭用水量增加。人们对人口密集城市用水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的了解有限。用水的变化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场所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，将在波士顿市的多个住宅和商业场所监测饮用水质量。这项研究的结果将对COVID-19后的恢复产生直接影响。研究结果为在未来用水模式短时间内发生急剧变化的情况下保护公共卫生和水基础设施提供了信息。为应对全球COVID-19大流行而采取的居家强制措施和所有非必要业务的相关停止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的潜在公共卫生问题。具体而言，商业建筑的用水量大幅减少，导致长期停滞和消毒能力丧失。停滞可能导致管道中生物膜的生长，其中含有机会致病菌或由于缺氧/厌氧条件的可能性而导致的腐蚀。与此同时，家庭用水量大大增加，这也可能影响建筑管道中的生物膜。该快速项目的目标是确定以下因素的影响：（1）用水模式的变化对饮用水的微生物和化学生态的影响;（2）生物膜在大量水微生物群落上的生长，作为不同用水模式的函数。该研究小组将利用波士顿市饮用水化学和综合宏基因组监测的持续努力来实现项目目标。在短期内，这项研究将产生急需的数据和见解，为重新投入使用战略提供信息。这在短期内尤其重要，因为患有COVID-19或从COVID-19中恢复的个体可能会暴露于饮用水中的机会性呼吸道病原体。研究结果还将为公共卫生干预期间大型商业建筑中未使用的冲洗和消毒水提供指导。从长远来看，在一个全面的饮用水系统中比较用水模式的极端变化对饮用水的化学和微生物生态的影响的能力，有可能大大提高对饮用水的生物稳定性的理解。因此，这项研究的结果将对COVID-19后的恢复产生直接影响，同时也将利用当前的形势，为饮用水质量管理提供持久的进步。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

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.