Lead Supervisor Name Dr Devin Sapsford Lead Supervisor Contact Details

Project Title

Integrated biogeochemical management of microbial taste and odour compounds in drinking water

Lead Supervisor Name

Dr Devin Sapsford

Lead Supervisor Contact Details

[e-mail]

Lead Supervisor Location/Student Home Institution

Institution: Cardiff

School: Engineering

Full Project Description

Cyanobacteria growing in reservoirs can produce metabolites that cause taste and odour (T&O) issues in drinking water, a major problem that is poorly understood and requires the use of costly activated carbon media for treatment and control. This project looks to contribute science to the development of more sustainable, cost-effective management approaches addressing this problem. The project aims to couple a better understanding of the production of two of the most prevalent cyanobacterial metabolites (2-methylisoborneol, or MIB, and geosmin) which cause T&O issues by investigating the rates and mechanisms of biotic and abiotic attenuation (particularly interactions at the mineral-water interface) within in reservoirs and water treatment plant sand filters. Reservoirs and the water treatment works (WTWs), which water passes through before distribution to consumers, constitute a complex biogeochemical system or ecosystem comprising macroscopic and microscopic organisms living on or within natural, semi-natural and artificial media. Biogeochemical cycles occur within reservoirs, and successful treatment in WTWs (whilst much more artificial) is dependent on the functioning of microbial communities for the removal and biodegradation of contaminating substances. For successful management, scientific contributions are needed to determine the dynamics and duration of MIB/geosmin production (now and in response to climate change), limnological circulation and cycling within reservoirs and in-reservoir attenuation mechanisms such as biodegradation, adsorption on suspended sediments, and photolysis. A focus and particularly novel area for the project will be the study of microbial ecosystems within existing reservoir sediments and WTW sand filters, their ability to degrade MIB/geosmin, and the influence of naturally-occurring manganese (Mn) and iron oxides on attenuation rates. Mn, in particular, is an important element in environmental processes and in catalytic materials, due to its complex redox chemistry and ability to form species of high catalytic activity. For example, recent work [1] has highlighted the importance of Mn(III) in transformation of organic contaminants. The PhD student appointed to work on this project would be based primarily at Cardiff, and would regularly undertake fieldwork at Welsh Water WTWs in South Wales, as well as making regular visits to supervisory team members at Bath. The programme of work draws on, and will deliver, strongly multidisciplinary science, and will contribute to solving a major problem facing the water industry. The project supervisory team is as follows: Dr Devin Sapsford, Dr Michael Harbottle, Prof Andrew Weightman, Dr Rupert Perkins (Cardiff University); Dr Danielle Wain (University of Bath) and Thomaz Andrade, Paul Gaskin and Steve McGlynn (D?r Cymru Welsh Water) Reference [1] Hu, E., Zhang, Y., Wu, S., Wu, J., Liang, L. and He, F., 2017. Role of dissolved Mn (III) in transformation of organic contaminants: Non-oxidative versus oxidative mechanisms. Water research, 111, pp.234-243.

Real Life challenges this project will address

Taste and odour issues are a global problem for water supply worldwide. Two cyanobacterial metabolites, 2-methylisoborneol (MIB) and 1,10-dimethyl-trans-9-decalol (geosmin) are commonly responsible and cause a noticeable musty taste and odour in water, even at very low concentrations (<10 ng/L). These compounds are resistant to many of the conventional treatment processes within water treatment plants. Management of MIB and geosmin alone are estimated to cost the UK Water Industry over £200M per year. The PhD will contribute to knowledge on whether more sustainable and cost-effective management practices within reservoirs and/or WTWs can be adopted that maximise the benefits of attenuation by natural mechanisms that utilise the microbial ecology potentially working in tandem with naturally-occurring minerals within the biogeochemical system.What you should know about this project

This project sits within a broader context of scientific endeavour which seeks new knowledge for understanding how we can we better manage natural freshwater bodies and their ecosystems (as the macro- and micro-scale) in ways which enhance the biodegradation of environmental contaminants.
The research programme to be conducted by the PhD student will contribute to knowledge on adaptation of management practices within reservoirs and/or WTWs to maximise the benefits of attenuation by natural mechanisms. The project will also consider the microbial ecology perspective and interactions with naturally-occurring minerals. The student will be supervised and will benefit from a truly multidisciplinary team, offering a unique and highly innovative research training experience.

What expertise you will develop

During 3.5 years of the Studentship, the student will develop the necessary multidisciplinary skills to understand how ecosystems can be better managed for the provision of highest water quality, involving contributions from several specialisms:

Environmental biogeochemistry of reservoir and treatment systems: Expertise in understanding how reservoir systems and their biota function as an ecosystem to regulate the chemistry of the water, and how the microbiome of sediments and sand filters function and regulate water quality in the project context.
Freshwater ecology of microbial communities, and environmental factors affecting their ability to thrive and produce metabolites that effect the T&O of drinking water sources will be investigated. This will result in a better understanding of how inputs from catchment systems and in-reservoir processes affect the ability of algal communities, in particular, to produce harmful substances in downstream water supply systems. It will provide insights into potential alternative catchment and reservoir management practices that could be applied to reduce risks to water supply generated from catchment and reservoir dynamics.
Geomicrobiological community analysis and interpretation: Expertise in use of DNA- (next generation sequencing, NGS for metataxonomics ands metagenomics) based microbial community diversity analysis, and dynamics (RNAseq).
Environmental /Ecological Engineering: Expertise in the harnessing of ecology and microbiological processes to achieve sustainable and reagent-free treatment of water. Understanding how kinetics of biogeochemical transformations of contaminants in different settings can be used to remove contaminants in both environmental and manufactured reactors.
Reservoir dynamics/limnology: Understanding of reservoir mass and energy fluxes and balances, and transport mechanisms from key areas of taste and odour production to the abstraction point. Insights on potential reservoir management to reduce T&O inputs to abstraction points
Water quality analyses (chemical analysis and chemical data analysis): Chemical characterisation of inorganic and organic components of water, sediments and media is essentially to the project. Analyses of compounds affecting T&O (e.g. MIB and geosmin) will involve a number of techniques, including GC-MS-MS, and will be carried out mainly at Dŵr Cymru Welsh Water specialist laboratories. The student will spend time at this facility developing expertise in analysis and the interpretation of such chemical data.
Practical working knowledge of water supply and treatment technology: The PhD student will work closely with Dŵr Cymru Welsh Water, part of the experimental work will involve in situ experiments in reservoirs and drinking water treatment plants. This will provide an excellent working knowledge of the supply and treatment of drinking water. In combined with the environmental and biosciences aspects of the PhD, the student will develop an holistic knowledge-base, with theoretical, scientific and practical training. The project and training opportunities offered by this Studentship fit centrally into the mission of the FRESH CDT, and alongside the extensive skills courses that are an integral part of the Fresh CDT, will allow the student to develop advanced transferable scientific skills.

Why this project is novel

The main novelty of this work is, firstly, the deployment of a well integrated multidisciplinary approach (engineering, bioscience, earth science and chemistry), with key stakeholders, to tackle the management of T&O compounds across reservoirs and WTWs as a whole biogeochemical system. Secondly, in the examination of the influence of metals on abiotic and biotic degradation and associated microbial community structure. Furthermore, because the project is a collaboration between academia and industry, it is anticipated that the outcomes of the research could have a rapid route to technological implementation and very significant impacts.

Rest of Supervisory Team:

Co-Supervisor 1

Dr Michael Harbottle

Affiliation: Cardiff

[e-mail]

Co-Supervisor 2

Professor Andrew Weightman

Affiliation: Cardiff

[e-mail]

Co-supervisor 3

Dr Danielle Wain

Affiliation: Bath

[e-mail]