AEESP Emerging Investigator Lecture at AWWA-WQTC: "Exploring Pipe Ecology and Maintaining Water Quality at the Tap"

Event: AWWA Water Quality Technology Conference
Date: Monday, November 10
Time: 4:00 pm PT
Location: Takoma, WA
Sponsor: AEESP Sustaining Member Corona Environmental Consulting

Title: Exploring Pipe Ecology and Maintaining Water Quality at the Tap

Description: Maintaining water quality from treatment to the tap is a challenge for any water system, made more complicated by multi-domain ecological system living along the walls of pipes. Even when pathogens like E. coli and Legionella pneumophila are controlled, there are many more microorganisms thriving in our drinking water. Understanding how these microbes grow and interact offers new opportunities to strategically manage microbial threats, both in the distribution system and within buildings. Another challenge to maintaining water safety throughout a distribution system is dynamic events like natural disasters. Understanding these phenomena is critical to developing response strategies. In this talk, we will discuss Dr. Proctor's work in understanding microbial ecology throughout water distribution systems, researching water quality response to disrupting events like COVID-19 building shut-downs and wildfire, and novel strategies to maintain water quality to the tap.

Bio: Dr. Caitlin R. Proctor has dedicated her career to advancing drinking water safety. She received her Ph.D. in Life Sciences from ZTH Zurich, and her B.S. and M.Sc. in engineering from Virginia Tech. As an assistant professor in Agricultural, Biological, Sustainability, and Environmental Engineering at Purdue University, she leads a research group that investigates many issues in water safety, with an emphasis on microbiomes and biofilms in plumbing. Dr. Proctor also investigates disasters, like wildfire, and their impact on water distribution and quality.