PATHWAYS and evolution of pollutants: Interactions between physical controlling effects, microbial community composition and pollutant biodegradation

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PATHWAYS brings together a multidisciplinary team crossing technology, systems thinking and society to aid the understanding of water quality. The project undertakes fundamental research, through to end-user delivery. We will develop new insights, approaches and technologies that support the needs of end-users to provide protection for communities and ecosystems using co-designed and appropriately applied technologies. We will do this, by developing improved, validated decision support tools to address the requirements for the protection and enhancement of natural water quality. This will inform end-user decisions made by environmental regulators and policymakers, engineering consultants and water utilities.The proposed study will employ a range of novel fundamental research approaches, including laboratory and field tracer studies, data interpretation and simulations, to ascertain the pathways and evolution of pollutants within a range of flow domains. In order to do so, the programme will investigate water quality characteristics paying special attention to the relationship between a number of critical parameters including physical, chemical and biological variables. The characteristics of the microbial communities in river water and sediments (microbial diversity) and their pollutant-degrading potential will be assessed and how they are affected by physical and chemical controls such as: boundary (biofilm and permeability), shape (cross-section and planform), and nutrients (reactive nitrogen and phosphorous) in four flow domains: rivers, lakes and wetlands and near-shore in the Ulhas River / Thame Creek Catchment (Mumbai Metropolitan Region, India). This will elucidate how direct discharge and diffuse scenarios affect interactions between physical controlling effects, microbial community composition and pollutant biodegradation rates.Our approach is unique in that the design and implementation of the technology is informed through understanding of local community, where an appropriate solution or systems structure is not presumed. The accessibility of robust low-powered sensors, communication technologies is providing great opportunities for locally orientated data collection focussed on community concerns. Using a citizen science approach, these advances can be used to develop efficient, user-friendly water monitoring strategies and systems based on innovative technologies, providing authorities, communities and other end-users real-time data.