Water Quality Management
Mission:
Serve small and decentralized water and wastewater systems through technology,
management, and decision-support research.
Goals:
Water Quality Management (WQM) staff will conduct timely research and
provide user-friendly information and guidance for small and decentralized
systems. Research will encompass the entire water cycle as it affects
small and decentralized systems. The research focuses on source water
protection, drinking water treatment, water quality in distribution systems,
wastewater collection, treatment and disposal, and water quality issues
as they are impacted by residual disposal and discharge. WQM research
will include:
- evaluating treatment technologies to determine if they are appropriate for small and decentralized systems in terms of cost, reliability, operation, maintenance and compliance;
- evaluating management systems to determine if they are appropriate for small and decentralized systems in terms of cost, reliability, operation, maintenance and compliance;
- modeling the cumulative impacts of small and decentralized systems on the quality and quantity of surface and ground water for drinking supplies and aquatic habitat; and
- developing planning and decision-making tools that will incorporate EPA ideals of reuse, smart growth, sustainable development and watershed management.