SEARCH FOR PROJECT

Using the Grand River System and Lake Erie as the study site, the research team investigated factors that influence the bioavailability and toxicity of copper, nickel, cadmium, zinc and lead, while considering what effect the presence of manganese and calcium has on metal toxicity.

Within this project, the researchers sought to investigate pathogen sources at the molecular level through identification of species-specific traits, which would allow potential hosts and reservoirs harboring waterborne pathogens to be identified and provide a measure of human health risks associated with recreational and drinking water.

This work can help assess health risks from Disinfection By-Products (DBP) in drinking water and guide the choice of disinfection processes for those responsible for drinking water quality, enhancing their ability to reduce the formation of harmful by-products and best invest resources to control DBP formation.

The project looked at issues related to the effectiveness of policy and governance of institutions in the Great Lakes Basin. The research developed key studies of the structure and operations of the governance regimes within the region, and provided recommendations for reform including stakeholder input.

In order to produce competitive crops, farmers need to use intensive agricultural practices which include the use of pesticides and fertilizers. However, these practices are known to degrade water quality. Water quality degradation resulting from present and past land-use activities has evolved from a topic of concern to a major regulatory issue nationally.

This project, led by Dr. George Dixon, addresses the science of aquatic environmental issues associated with oil sands development that will lead to improved wastewater management.

The aim of this project was to combine expertise in physical and contaminant hydrogeology, soil physics, aqueous geochemistry and numerical modelling with economics to assess the environmental threat related to contaminant release pathways on livestock farms and to examine the performance and cost effectiveness of alternative management practices.

This project will include a comprehensive assessment of infrastructure for functionality, resiliency and sustainability, with municipalities based on the FSS framework in order to identify the infrastructure gap and better direct their resources to build resiliency and reduce the impacts of climate change.

The aims of the project were to evaluate the effect of non-point sources of pollution from urban and agricultural sources, to develop new methods to examine cumulative effects on watersheds with a focus on trace metals, pathogens, and antibiotics, and to test innovative methods to reduce ecosystem and human health impacts.

This innovative research project sought to address microbial contamination of surface source drinking water by focusing on the cause of waterborne outbreaks of microbial contaminants using a “Watershed-to-Tap” framework. Novel methods allowed the researchers to assess community health and watershed events in real-time.