Eagle Hydration Station

Eagle Hydration Stations Drs. Celine Manoosingh and Francisco Cubas, Department of Civil Engineering and Construction Management Building, College of Engineering and Information Technology, as well as the Engineering Technology building, aim to provide hygienic, hands-free water dispensers. The goal of installing these high efficiency, low cost units was to reduce the ecological footprint of water bottles on the Georgia Southern University campus by 10-15% by the end of 2016. Hydration stations would provide students with an alternative to bottled water by dispensing free, filtered tap water, culminating in a decrease in the consumption of bottled water on campus. In accordance with this goal, this proposal also encompasses a campus-wide campaign to make students aware of the environmental impact of the production, packaging, transport, usage and disposal of plastic water bottles. Additionally, undergraduate students were also involved in performing a life cycle assessment of the embodied energy saved by the plastic water bottles displaced

Life Cycle Assessment: Eagle Hydration Stations

This conference proceeding was published in Proceedings of Sustainable Solutions at Georgia Southern University

The Effect of Surface Water Pollution on Concrete and Steel Bridge Structures

This conference proceeding was published in Proceedings of the Georgia Department of Transportation and Georgia Transportation Institute Research Expo

Developing a Water Use Profile for a Public Water System in the Southeast

This conference proceeding was published in Proceedings of the American Water Works Association Annual Conference

Changes in Corrosion Rates of Infrastructures Adjacent to Polluted Freshwaters

This conference proceeding was published in Proceedings of the Annual UTC Conference

Changes in Corrosion Rates of Infrastructures Adjacent to Polluted Freshwaters

This conference proceeding was published in Proceedings of the Annual UTC Conference

Effects of Nitrate Addition on Water Column Methylmercury in Occoquan Reservoir, Virginia, USA

Mercury bioaccumulation in aquatic biota poses a widespread threat to human and environmental health. Methylmercury (MeHg), the toxic form of mercury, tends to build up under anaerobic conditions in the profundal zones of lakes. In this study we performed a two-year assessment of spatial and temporal patterns of dissolved oxygen, nitrate, MeHg, manganese (Mn) and iron (Fe) in Occoquan Reservoir, a large run-of-the-river drinking water reservoir in Virginia, USA. A tributary to the reservoir receives input of nitrate-rich tertiary-treated wastewater that enhances the oxidant capacity of bottom water. Multiple lines of evidence supported the hypothesis that the presences of nitrate and/or oxygen in bottom water correlated with low MeHg in bottom water. Bottom water MeHg was significantly lower in a nitrate-rich tributary (annual mean of 0.05 ng/L in both 2012 and 2013) compared to a nitrate-poor tributary (annual mean of 0.58 ng/L in 2012 and 0.21 ng/L in 2013). The presence of nitrate and oxygen in bottom water corresponded with significantly lower bottom water MeHg at an upstream station in the main reservoir (0.05 versus 0.11 ng/L in 2013). In 2012 the reservoir exhibited a longitudinal gradient with nitrate and oxygen decreasing and MeHg and Mn increasing downstream. In both study years, there was a clear threshold of oxygen equivalent (3–5 mg/L), a metric that combines the oxidant capacity of nitrate and oxygen, above which MeHg (\u3c0.05 ng/L), Mn (\u3c0.3 mg/L) and Fe (\u3c0.5 mg/L) were low. Results indicated that the addition of nitrate-rich tertiary-treated wastewater to the bottom of anaerobic reservoirs can reduce MeHg concentrations, and potentially decrease mercury bioaccumulation, while increasing the safe water yield for potable use

Identifying and Managing Risks

Book Summary: The Nutrient Roadmap, written to help utilities achieve the goal of a zero net impact with regard to nutrient discharges by 2040, is a first step toward accelerating the transition to smarter nutrient management, facilitating the shift from removal to recovery, and anticipating future requirements to conserve energy and reuse resources. By reading this book, you will have a better understanding of where your utility falls on the path to becoming a facility that not only produces clean water, but recovers critical nutrients for reuse in an energy-neutral manner. You will explore key issues to consider as you move toward this goal, such as:• environmental and community effects • operational effectiveness • economic factors • permit compliance • regulatory compliance • current and emerging treatment technologies, and more Case studies explore the innovative, cost-effective solutions employed by pioneering wastewater resource recovery facilities. The Nutrient Roadmap acknowledges that each utility faces unique challenges and provides you with a variety of paths to follow and alternative destinations from which to choose as you embark on the road toward sustainability

Effects of Nitrate Input from a Water Reclamation Facility on the Occoquan Reservoir Water Quality

To manage water quality in the Occoquan Reservoir, Virginia, a water reclamation facility discharges nitrified product water that reduces the release of undesirable substances (e.g., phosphorus, iron, and ammonia) from sediments during periods of hypolimnetic anoxia. Results showed that when the oxidized nitrogen (OxN) concentration input to the reservoir was lower than 5 mg N/L during periods of anoxia following thermal stratification, nitrate was depleted in the upper reaches of the reservoir resulting in the release of ammonia and orthophosphate from the sediments downstream. When the OxN input to the reservoir was operationally increased to a concentration greater than 10 mg-N/L, orthophosphate release was suppressed. Introducing OxN to the system decreased sediment ammonia release but did not eliminate it. By discharging reclaimed water that contained nitrate levels greater than 10 mg N/L, reservoir water quality was protected and the discharged nitrate was converted to nitrogen gas as it moved downstream