American Water, the nation’s largest publicly traded water and wastewater utility company, has been awarded a research grant from the WateReuse Research Foundation to investigate human pathogen removal through various types of wastewater treatment processes.

The project, titled “Establishing Pathogen Log Reduction Credits for Wastewater Treatment Processes (WWTPS),” will be led by Dr. Zia Bukhari, senior environmental scientist, American Water.

“Water scarcity issues and recent technological advances have made it possible for potable reuse to be considered seriously for augmentation of freshwater supplies,” says Bukhari. “However, given the variety of different treatment processes, their performance needs to be characterized to ensure appropriate downstream treatment is employed to meet future regulations and to protect public health.”

The two-year study, which will cost $590,546 with funding from the WateReuse Research Foundation and American Water, is being conducted in collaboration with MWH Global and Corona Environmental Consultants Inc. The research project team will consist of Dr. Bukhari as the principal investigator with American Water’s Dr. Mark LeChevallier, Joan Oppenheimer of MWH Global and Dr. Tim Bartrand of Corona Environmental Consultants as co-principal investigators.

About the WateReuse Research Foundation
The WateReuse Research Foundation is an educational, nonprofit public benefit corporation that serves as a centralized organization for the water and wastewater community to advance the science of water reuse, recycling, reclamation and desalination. The foundation sponsors applied research that addresses the full range of scientific, technical, policy and social science issues related to water reuse and desalination. For more information, visit www.watereuse.org.

About American Water
Founded in 1886, American Water is the largest and most geographically diverse publicly traded U.S. water and wastewater utility company. With headquarters in Voorhees, New Jersey, the company employs 6,400 dedicated professionals who provide regulated and market-based drinking water, wastewater and other related services to an estimated 15 million people in 47 states and Ontario, Canada. More information can be found at www.amwater.com.

About MWH Global
MWH Global is dedicated to "Building a Better World." As specialists in water and natural resources, MWH employees use innovative ideas and technology to help solve complex infrastructure and environmental challenges. This work is built on a nearly 200-year history during which MWH has delivered services from initial planning and design through construction, start-up and operations. Today, MWH employs more than 7,000 experts including engineers, consultants and construction professionals in 35 countries on six continents. Each of these experts is committed to serving global communities through sustainable development and project delivery. MWH is a private, employee-owned company headquartered in Broomfield, Colorado. For more information, visit www.mwhglobal.com.

About Corona Environmental Consultants
Corona Environmental Consulting was created in 2013 to bring together exceptional, multidisciplinary expertise in chemistry, microbiology, engineering, data analysis and information technologies to help resolve complex and/or emerging challenges faced by clients within the water community.