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Risk Management Water Facilities

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Water Research Experts

The National Risk Management Research Laboratory (NRMRL) conducts a broad spectrum of water research. The Water Supply and Water Resources Division (WSWRD) studies the management of contaminants in water supplies that pose a threat to human health. WSWRD scientists and engineers develop approaches to monitor, treat, characterize, protect, and restore impaired waterways and infrastructure by conducting research in the areas of drinking water and water quality. Uniformly, the Ground Water and Ecosystems Restoration Division (GWERD) works to provide results-driven technical assistance to support the development of strategies and technologies that protect and restore groundwater, surface water, and ecosystems impacted by man-made and natural events. GWERD also seeks the understanding of the physical, chemical, and biological processes that control the transport of mass and energy in surface and subsurface ecosystems through the movement of water. The wide range of water research conducted at NRMRL allows EPA to fulfill its mission to protect human health and the environment through these evaluations that can lead to enhanced regulatory application or more efficient applications for use by states, Tribes and the water industry as a whole.

 
Andrew W. Breidenbach Environmental Research Center
Cincinnati, OH
AWBERC

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EPA's Andrew W. Breidenbach Environmental Research Center (AWBERC) lies adjacent to the main campus of the University of Cincinnati and near major hospitals and medical research complexes. The Center is one of two major EPA research centers in the nation, housing research laboratories, training facilities, and administrative offices.

International Leader. AWBERC is internationally recognized for water research and has become a leader in areas of bioremediation and pollution prevention. The National Risk Management Research Laboratory (NRMRL) uses the AWBERC facility for drinking water, water quality, land remediation, pollution control, and sustainability research. Learn more about the AWBERC facility.

Research Facilities Available for Your Use. With its valuable and highly specialized research facilities located in laboratories and research centers across the country, EPA has opportunities for states, private sector companies, utilities, nonprofit organizations, and academic institutions to use EPA's facilities for research. By making its research facilities and equipment available when not otherwise in use for Agency research, EPA can serve as a catalyst for progress in efforts to identify, understand, and solve current and future environmental problems. Learn more about using our facility for Collaborative R&D: Biocontaminant Laboratory | Drinking Water Research Facilities | Full Containment Facility

Greening EPA. Aligned with EPA's mission to protect the environment, AWBERC has implemented environmental “greening” features such as green roofs, rain gardens, more energy efficient equipment, elimination of the need to use once-through city water, and an enhanced recycling program that includes five different grades of paper; all fluorescent lighting; all petroleum products; all toner cartridges, and more. Learn more about Greening AWBERC.

Green Energy. EPA Cincinnati and EPA Headquarters partnered with the General Services Administration and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory to purchase green power from Community Energy, Inc. of Wayne, PA. The fuel mix consists of 95% landfill gas and 5% wind power, and greatly reduces greenhouse gas emissions from the atmosphere. The three year power-purchase contract will satisfy 100% of EPA's electricity needs for three facilities in Cincinnati, Ohio that consume a total of 15.6 million kWh/year. Learn more about AWBERC and Energy Conservation.
 
Test and Evaluation Facility
Cincinnati, OH
Entrance to Test and Evaluation Facility

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The Test and Evaluation Facility (T&E) is designed to support research on new treatment technologies for water and hazardous waste. This unique facility, utilized by the National Risk Management Research Laboratory, has a high-bay area for bench-, pilot-, and full-scale research, and is supported by analytical laboratories, chemical storage, and office space. On-site chemistry labs, and two water distribution system simulators, allow scientists the flexibility to study drinking water contaminants, biosensors, and small systems.

Ohio EPA Treatability Exclusion. Under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, T&E is a permitted treatment, storage, and disposal facility that holds an Ohio EPA Treatability Exclusion. This exclusion allows the facility to conduct treatability studies using quantities of all categories of hazardous waste. This is unmatched by any similar facility in the nation. As part of EPA’s Environmental Technology Verification Program, T&E also verifies water security monitoring and treatment technology testing.

Research Facilities Available for Your Use. With its valuable and highly specialized research facilities located in laboratories and research centers across the country, EPA has opportunities for states, private sector companies, utilities, nonprofit organizations, and academic institutions to use EPA's facilities for research. By making its research facilities and equipment available when not otherwise in use for Agency research, EPA can serve as a catalyst for progress in efforts to identify, understand, and solve current and future environmental problems. Learn more about using T&E Facility for Collaborative R&D.

USEPA. (2008). "Test and Evaluation Facility (PDF)." (2 pp, 211 KB) EPA Publication No. EPA/600/F-08/004.
   
Edison Environmental Center
Edison, NJ
Urban Watershed Research Facility

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The Edison Environmental Center (EEC) is located on 205 acres of suburban property shared with other EPA facilities to develop and evaluate the performance of common and innovative stormwater management practices. The laboratory building is configured to conduct bench- scale analyses of environmental samples.

The National Risk Management Research Laboratory utilizes the facility to research technical approaches to managing flow and runoff generated from rainfall in an urban setting, including green technologies such as green roofs, swales, and rain gardens. The facility includes greenhouses that allow all-season operation; analytical laboratories for on-site analysis of common chemical and microbial stressors; a high-bay engineering development and support area; automated electronic monitoring and automatic sampling equipment; and will soon include a one-of its-kind, full-scale pervious pavement demonstration research site. Learn more about the research happening in EEC.

Research Facilities Available for Your Use. With its valuable and highly specialized research facilities located in laboratories and research centers across the country, EPA has opportunities for states, private sector companies, utilities, nonprofit organizations, and academic institutions to use EPA's facilities for research. By making its research facilities and equipment available when not otherwise in use for Agency research, EPA can serve as a catalyst for progress in efforts to identify, understand, and solve current and future environmental problems. Learn more about using EEC for Collaborative R&D.

Greening EPA. Our parking lot is an experiment in permeable surfaces! The lot covers about one acre and provides parking for employees and visitors. The lot slopes so water flows across the driving lanes between the porous sections. Partially buried tanks receive water drained from lined sections of the permeable parking lanes, allowing researchers to measure volume and flow rates and also study stormwater quality. Monitoring instruments are installed in and beneath the porous pavement to understand the movement of stormwater through the pavement, underlying layers, and into the native soil. Six rain garden cells will help reduce stormwater runoff from non-porous sections of the parking lot and the roof of the adjacent building. Measurements will enable scientists to determine whether permeable surfaces will help cities: cool more effectively during summer evenings than areas paved with conventional surfaces; reduce stormwater volume flowing to receiving waters; and improve water quality by removing solids and other environmental contaminants. All of the rain falling on the parking lot will infiltrate into the soil with no runoff reducing the environmental footprint of our EPA facility. For more information read our fact sheet: "Design/Construction of a Permeable Pavement Demonstration Site at the Edison Environmental Center(PDF)." (2 pp, 195 KB) (EPA/600/F-09/038) October 2009 - Abstract

USEPA. (2008). "The Urban Watershed Management Research Facility (PDF)." (2 pp, 216 KB) EPA Publication No. EPA/600/F-08/004.
   
Experimental Stream Facility
Clermont County, OH
Experimental Stream Facility

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The Experimental Stream Facility (ESF) is one of only a handful of research facilities in the U.S. designed to conduct small stream research. The facility has eight stream mesocosms that provide a balance between the benefits of a controlled laboratory study (e.g. controlled flow rates, solar irradiance and streambed type) and the benefits of a field study.  This allows researchers to study how pollutant loads interact with important characteristics of stream habitat that may or may not change as a result of anthropogenic stress.

Changes to the stream ecosystem structure and function can be measured and observed in ways that are not possible in field or laboratory studies.  Well designed and controlled experimental stream mesocosm studies can represent a primary tool providing the process-level understanding necessary to move basic research and development from the laboratory bench-top to field applications. ESF studies are designed to gain information on both watershed management and the impact of contaminants of concern. Learn more about ESF research.

Research Facilities Available for Your Use. With its valuable and highly specialized research facilities located in laboratories and research centers across the country, EPA has opportunities for states, private sector companies, utilities, nonprofit organizations, and academic institutions to use EPA's facilities for research. By making its research facilities and equipment available when not otherwise in use for Agency research, EPA can serve as a catalyst for progress in efforts to identify, understand, and solve current and future environmental problems. Learn more about using ESF for Collaborative R&D.

USEPA. (2008). "The Experimental Stream Facility, Clermont County, Ohio (PDF)." (2 pp, 228 KB) Publication No. EPA/600/F-08/006.

USEPA. (2008). "Experimental Streams Facilities -- Design and Research" (Video)." (8.25 minutes, EPA YouTube) Publication No. EPA/600/F-08/017.
 
Robert S. Kerr Environmental Research Center
Ada, OK
Front Entrance of Experimental Stream Facility

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The Robert S. Kerr Environmental Research Center (RSKERC) houses state-of-the-science analytical chemistry equipment, specialized instrumentation for solid-phase and colloid characterization, and field equipment to study the transport and transformation of contaminants in soil and groundwater.

Ecosystems and Subsurface Research Field Site, Ada, OK
These research facilities collaborate with NRMRL on ecosystems’ susceptibility to nitrogen deposition and the development of novel management interventions for improving nitrogen-use efficiency in watersheds. The 11-acre field site includes a weather station, computer facility, and several types of wells designed to safeguard our underground supplies of drinking water against contamination by pollutants introduced to the subsurface via injection wells.

Research Field Site Available for Your Use. With its valuable and highly specialized research facilities located in laboratories and research centers across the country, EPA has opportunities for states, private sector companies, utilities, nonprofit organizations, and academic institutions to use EPA's facilities for research. By making its research facilities and equipment available when not otherwise in use for Agency research, EPA can serve as a catalyst for progress in efforts to identify, understand, and solve current and future environmental problems. Learn more about using RSKERC for Collaborative R&D.

Greening EPA. To reduce its environmental footprint, the Kerr Center became EPA’s first “carbon neutral” laboratory. This means the Center reduces energy use wherever possible and implements carbon offsets to mitigate any remaining greenhouse gas emissions caused by using energy. The result is net zero emissions. Learn more about Greening RSKERC.

Green Energy. EPA offsets 100 percent of the electricity consumption at the Robert S. Kerr Environmental Research Center with renewable energy certificates (RECs) purchased through the Agency's current blanket green power contract. In April 2005, EPA entered into a three-year contract with Sterling Planet, to purchase 3 million kilowatt hours (kWh) of green power annually in the form of renewable energy certificates (RECs). Procured by the Defense Energy Support Center, this contract supports the generation of renewable energy from wind turbines at facilities located in Wyoming, California, and Nebraska, and will help offset 100 percent of annual electricity use at the Ada laboratory.

USEPA. (2008). "The Robert S. Kerr Environmental Research Center, Ada, Oklahoma (PDF)." (2 pp, 216 KB) EPA Publication No. EPA/600/F-08/003.

Technical Contact:

Michelle Latham (513) 569-7601

Office of Research & Development | National Risk Management Research Laboratory

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