Mountains to Metro
Guiding the management of unregulated contaminants in drinking water
The Environmental Challenge
Thanks to technological advances, contaminants of emerging concern (CECs) are detectable almost everywhere in trace amounts. However, uncertainty surrounding their effects on people and the environment makes it difficult for drinking water utilities to incorporate them into water quality protection planning.
Our Client
Denver Water is a drinking water utility that serves ~1.4 million people in the Denver Metro area. They want to understand the threat CECs may pose to drinking water quality in their collection system.
Study Area
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Upper South Platte Basin, Colorado
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Denver Water’s primary water supply
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~ 4000 square miles
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Mostly undeveloped
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Popular outdoor recreation destination
Approach
To achieve our objectives, we developed a four step approach and applied it to Denver Water.
Key Findings
1. Wastewater treatment plants are the primary source of contaminants.
2. Recreation also has impacts, but they are harder to quantify.
3. Pharmaceuticals pose a very low risk to Denver Water.
4. More information is needed to assess risk for certain contaminants.
5. A period of initial data collection is needed to establish baseline conditions.
The Dream Stream is located in the study area and draws thousands of visitors per year.
Photo: Hugh Carey
Read our methods for developing a risk-based monitoring plan here!
What's next?
We presented our work to a public audience on April 26, 2019, and graduated from the Bren School June 14, 2019.
Acknowledgements
We would like to extend our deepest thanks to: our faculty advisor, Dr. Arturo Keller and our PhD advisor, Nicol Parker; our partners at Denver Water, especially Alison Witheridge; our external advisor, Dr. Patricia Holden; the Bren School community for their support and feedback.
CONTACT US
Bren School of Environmental Science & Management
2400 Bren Hall
University of California, Santa Barbara, CA 93106-5131
For inquiries to the team: sharedsource.bren19@gmail.com