Gatton Foundation Endowed Chairship
Overview
The Gatton Foundation Endowed Chair funds will advance the knowledge of sustainable water management and water quality treatment by expanding our efforts to identify, trace, and treat complex water quality mixtures in Kentucky. This increased capacity for stream monitoring, tap water sampling, and development of cost-effective treatment designs will move us closer to a Commonwealth where all people have accessible clean water. The three tracks below outline the workplan and potential impact of the funds for the next 5 years.
Track 1: Student Training and Success
Workplan:
Currently, the Messer research program is supporting an outreach initiative (mesoWheels) through her NSF CAREER award to bring together 12 high school environmental science/biology/agriculture classes around the Commonwealth (see current participants below) to participate in a hands-on experiment in their classroom to evaluate the implications of wetland treatment systems for their local water quality concerns. Further, funds will be used to provide additional opportunities for the NSF REU: REU Site: Multidisciplinary Approaches for Overcoming Water Resources and Sustainable Engineering Challenges in Appalachian Regions
Potential Impact:
This work has the potential to provide a streamline of students, many who are from Title 1 schools, to experience the importance and potential opportunities at the University of Kentucky in the College of Agriculture, Food, and Environment. More importantly, this experience has the potential in making lasting impacts on their communities as the project is focused on developing cost-effective solutions for water quality impairments that have been observed in their communities during 2022. Further, interactions with the NSF REU hosted by the Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering Department will provide invaluable professional development and networking opportunities for undergraduate researchers.
Track 2: Water Quality Needs Assessment
Workplan:
Currently the Commonwealth of Kentucky has over 40 years of water quality data from rivers, streams, and reservoirs, many that are currently as drinking water sources. However, there are several regions with gaps of active monitoring stations, particularly in the Appalachian region where health disparities are significantly higher. Therefore, a gap assessment of water quality data is being completed to determine regions of Kentucky that have gaps or absences of data collection and identify contaminants of interest in the Commonwealth. Further, health data from the cancer registry will be overlaid on the developed model to assess potential similarities.
Potential Impact:
The proposed work as the potential to build partnerships with the UK CARES Analytical Corp, Kentucky Water Research Institute, University of Kentucky Medical Center, and Kentucky Extension. Findings are imperative for the development of a potential NIH or NSF Center proposal for the region that could have lasting impacts on implications of water quality monitoring in tangent with health data collection.
Track 3: Low-Cost Water Quality Treatment Options
Workplan:
The Messer research program focuses on identifying, tracing, and treating contaminants in surface water environments. Therefore, we are conducting microcosm and mesocosm experiments to assess potential ecological treatment options for observed contaminants of interest identified by the needs assessment.
Potential Impact:
Over 90% of the population in Kentucky depend on surface water from rivers and lakes as a source of drinking water. Similar to how the heart pumps blood, in regions like the Commonwealth that are dependent on surface water for drinking water, surface water is pumped from adjacent rivers, treated at a water treatment plant (WTP), distributed to homes, and returned to the river as effluent from the wastewater treatment plant (WWTP). The proposed work has the potential to impact over 230 WTP and WWTP operations in rural communities in Kentucky by providing cost-effective treatment recommendations that are conducive with tax disparities for water infrastructure and maintenance in rural communities. Further, by enhancing treatment methods in upstream WWTP downstream WTPs will have less pressure for water treatment as drinking water sources are preserved. Findings will also be used to develop a larger scale proposal for submission to EPA, NSF, or NIH.
Funded: Gatton Foundation
Graduate Student: William Rud
High School Participants:
Bryan Station High School (Fayette County)
Burgin Independent High School (Mercer County)
Muhlenberg High School (Muhlenberg County)
George Rogers Clark High School (Clark County)
Buckhorn High School (Perry County)
Apollo High School (Daviess County)
Menifee County High School (Menifee County)
Bullitt Advance Math and Science (Bullitt County)
Hazard Community and Technical College (Breathitt County)
Mason County High School (Mason County)
Russell Independent High School (Greenup County)
Hopkins County High School (Hopkins County)