Water Treatment and Infrastructure Research

Our communities are increasingly facing greater challenges with our aging drinking water, wastewater, and stormwater infrastructure, including distribution systems and treatment technologies with immediate and emerging contaminants of concern. Drinking water issues, such as lead in service lines and treatment of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), are impacting communities across the nationwide.

Extreme precipitation events resulting in flooding and sewer overflows threaten community health and safety and ecosystems. In addition, changes in the frequency and intensity of prolonged drought, combined with increased water demand, present a threat to water supplies.

EPA’s research will provide critical information to inform regulatory actions and guidance at the federal level, implementation actions at regional and state levels, management of water at local levels, and technical assistance to communities.

EPA researcher standing in front of an EPA test pilot for testing premise plumbing.

Drinking Water

Learn about our drinking water research focused on developing and evaluating cost-effective approaches needed to optimize drinking water treatment and distribution and decrease system vulnerability, and on providing communities with technical assistance in support of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, technical support, and training.

A stream with a rocky shore. There is a metal container with silt sitting on the shore with next to a test beakers with a water and sediment sample.

Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS)

Learn about our PFAS research focused on remediating PFAS sources and on the development of analytical methods, treatment approaches for drinking water and wastewater, and approaches for residual treatment and management.

A wooden dock leading to a body of water surround by tall grass on both sides of the dock and water.

Alternative Water Sources

Learn about our alternative water sources research focused on assessing exposure risks from different water reuse sources and their applications, improved treatment characterization and monitoring, and developing tools and resources that will help communities make decisions on alternative water use for climate adaptation.

a strip of vegetation in a swale with retained water runoff between a residential sidewalk and the road

Stormwater Management

Learn about our stormwater management research focused on managing stormwater and leveraging greenspace and associated green infrastructure to improve water quality, manage water quantity, and reduce flood frequency.

Wastewater

Learn about our wastewater research focused on evaluating contaminants and treatment approaches for safely discharging wastewater and disposing of biosolids, identifying emerging risks to human health, and developing modeling tools that aid in decreasing system vulnerability to disasters.