Dr. Guy Iverson (Environmental Health faculty) received a $21,000 research grant from the University of North Carolina (UNC) – Chapel Hill for NC Policy Collaboratory Project titled, “Evaluating Nutrient Treatment Efficiency by Onsite Wastewater Treatment Systems in the North Carolina Piedmont”. Dr. Iverson serves as the Principal Investigator (PI) of the project. His team is comprised of other ECU faculty: Dr. Michael O’Driscoll (Co-PI; Dept. of Coastal Studies), Dr. Charles Humphrey (Co-PI; Environmental Health Sciences Program, Dept. of Health Education & Promotion), Dr. Natasha Bell (Dept. of Engineering); and Dr. John Hoben (Dept. of Biology).
ECU researchers have studied nutrient transport from onsite wastewater treatment systems (OWTSs) to surface waters of the Falls Lake Watershed over the past 7 years and found evidence supporting that OWTSs may be significant sources of nutrients to streams draining the reservoir. In 2020, Brown & Caldwell partnered with Systech Water Resources, Inc., ECU, and state and local county health departments to create a model to estimate nutrient inputs from OWTSs to the Lake. Through this effort, they estimated that there are approximately 50,000 OWTSs within the watershed. Many of these systems are in Raleigh Belt geology, but there is a lack of data characterizing OWTS performance in this geological setting. The current project will expound upon the past research by characterizing nutrient transport from OWTSs in Raleigh Belt geology and evaluating nutrient transport by a malfunctioning OWTS. This expansion project will allow researchers to better understanding of groundwater and surface water impacts from OWTS in this geologic setting. Results from this study will further constrain nutrient modeling efforts, which are important tools that can help water quality stakeholders identify areas where nutrient loading may be elevated. This study will also provide data quantifying the influence of a malfunctioning OWTS on water resources.
Congratulations, Dr. Iverson and team!
