SCC-CIVIC-PG Track B: Remote Monitoring of Small Rural Water Systems to Ensure Safe Drinking Water through Disasters and Natural Recovery

美国有超过4.5万个小型社区供水系统，每个供水系统最多可为1万人供水。这些系统为大多数农村社区提供至关重要的饮用水供应，面临着许多挑战，而自然灾害和COVID-19等大流行病使这些挑战变得更加困难。为了更好地保护这些水系统，包括在紧急情况下，该项目将开发和测试工具，以远程检查这些水系统的状态，并为操作系统的操作人员提供支持。该规划项目是学术界和地方政府合作伙伴之间的合作，旨在开发和试点这些远程卫生检查工具和水质监测系统，同时增加小型社区供水系统中熟练人员的使用。这项研究的目的是支持对小型供水系统的检查和监测，并确保操作员在灾害期间和灾害后的连续性。规划期间的具体目标是：1)调查和试验用于对水源和处理基础设施进行远程卫生检查和远程监测的工具，以通过灾害和恢复改善小型供水系统的安全供水；2)探索以共享操作员计划的形式提高突发事件中人力资源能力的模式。合作伙伴包括马萨诸塞大学阿默斯特分校、马萨诸塞西部的两个区域规划组织（富兰克林地区政府委员会和先锋谷规划委员会）和马萨诸塞环境保护部。具体来说，这个项目将发展和试行一个流动系统，简化和精简对水源和处理设施的卫生调查和检查；评估在小型水系统中应用的新型水质监测设备；并为位于三个县的乡镇开发一个共享运营商项目的模型。这些研究问题将解决如何在灾害中支持小型社区供水业务的连续性方面的知识空白，并根据民间伙伴确定的需求发展而来。拟议的项目将直接解决小型社区因COVID-19大流行而面临的挑战，并帮助为未来的灾难做好准备，包括未来的大流行病和极端天气事件。这个项目是对公民创新挑战项目——Track B-Resilience to Natural disaster的回应，是NSF和国土安全部之间的合作项目。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，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。

More than 45,000 community water systems in the US are small, each providing water to up to 10,000 people. These systems, which provide a vital supply of potable water to mostly rural communities, are faced with many challenges which are made harder by natural disasters and pandemics such as COVID-19. To better protect these water systems, including during emergency scenarios, this project will develop and test tools to check the status as of these water systems remotely as well and to support the operators who run the systems. This planning project is a collaboration between academic and local government partners to develop and pilot these remote sanitary inspection tools and water quality monitoring systems while at the same time increasing access to skilled personnel in small community water systems.The goal of this research is to support inspection and monitoring of small water systems and to ensure continuity of operators during and after disasters. The specific aims of the planning period are to: 1) Investigate and pilot tools for conducting remote sanitary inspection and remote monitoring of water sources and treatment infrastructure to improve delivery of safe water in small water systems through disasters and recovery; and 2) Explore a model of enhancing human resource capacity during emergencies in the form of shared operator programs. Partners include the University of Massachusetts Amherst, two regional planning organizations in western Massachusetts (the Franklin Regional Council of Governments and the Pioneer Valley Planning Commission), and the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection. Specifically, this project will develop and pilot a mobile system which simplifies and streamlines sanitary surveys and inspections for source waters and treatment facilities; evaluate novel water quality monitoring devices for application in small water systems; and develop a model for a shared-operator program for the towns located in three counties. The research questions will address gaps in knowledge in how to support the continuity of small community water supply operations through disasters and were developed from needs identified by civic partners. The proposed project would directly address challenges small communities face due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and help with preparedness for future disasters, including future pandemics and extreme weather events. This project is in response to the Civic Innovation Challenge program, Track B—Resilience to Natural Disasters—and is a collaboration between NSF and the Department of Homeland Security.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.