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.
