| At the University of British Columbia,
an ecosystem scientist and a public health expert are breaking new
ground in interdisciplinary research to develop an early warning
system for water contamination.
They call it the "silo mentality" – researchers from
different scientific disciplines working in isolation, unaware of
the human, social, and economic benefits of pooling their collective
expertise.
When it comes to the environment, human health, and safe drinking
water, a silo mentality can have deadly consequences.
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Taking water surveillance online
Dr. Hans Schreier and Dr. Judy Isaac-Renton are
working with the City of Chilliwack on a second Canadian
Water Network project to field test fluorescent spectrophometers.
Developed by Joule Microsystems Canada Inc. of Delta,
B.C., these sensors measure pollutants in a river or
stream.
The researchers are particularly interested in what
happens to water after a "turbidity event"
(i.e. heavy rainstorm), when bacterial runoff into rivers
increases the risk of contamination. The equipment can
take samples "at the flick of a switch," providing
immediate test results for researchers, public health
officials, and municipalities.
"From working with Judy, I'm learning that
most serious health events occur after a turbidity event,"
says Dr. Schreier. "If we can measure these
events beforehand, we can alert people to not use the
water, to boil it, or wait until the turbidity is down
again. This data is now available on the Internet for
anyone to look up on a real-time basis."
Dr. Isaac-Renton says such an approach could dramatically
change how drinking water is monitored.
"I think the type of public surveillance we're
doing for drinking water is inadequate. It's far
too late in the system," she says. "Right
now, we spend millions of dollars to test water, not
for public health purposes, but for managing the control,
the filtration, the disinfection. The paradigm has to
change and collaborations such as between Hans and myself,
funded by agencies such as the Canadian Water Network,
may help."
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That's why, with the help of the Canadian Water Network (CWN),
a diverse team of watershed experts, chemists, microbiologists,
and civil engineers are pioneering a 21st-century approach to research
that tracks the quality of drinking water from its source to your
tap.
Dr. Hans Schreier, a professor at the University of British Columbia's
Institute for Resources, Environment & Sustainability, and Dr.
Judy Isaac-Renton, Director of the B.C. Centre for Disease Control
Laboratory Services, are collaborating on three separate research
projects that could help to prevent a future Walkerton-type tragedy
from occurring.
Just four years ago, the veteran water experts had never heard
of each other.
"Prior to the formation of the CWN, we were working in our
own silos," says Dr. Isaac-Renton, a microbiologist with
extensive experience in waterborne pathogens and their effects on
human health. "I thought I was well connected, yet here were
Hans and I living in the same city for 25 years and working for
the same university, and never knowing we had a similar professional
interest."
Dr. Isaac-Renton describes their partnership as a natural fit:
"Hans represents the source, and I represent the tap. By partnering
we've covered off the flow of water from one into the other,
with the goal of protecting public health."
Dr. Isaac-Renton's laboratory traditionally tested water
at the end of the pipe to determine if it is safe for human consumption.
Dr. Schreier has worked primarily in the field, using chemistry
and remote-sensing GIS (Geographic Information Systems) to study
the interaction between land use and water pollution.
As collaborators, they are sharing research results to identify
sources of contamination before the water ever reaches the tap.
For graduate students, it means a more holistic approach to water
research. For example, one of Dr. Schreier's PhD students
(Jamie Ross) is learning about microbial techniques in Dr. Isaac-Renton's
lab, while one of her graduate students (Natalie Prystajecky) will
join Dr. Schreier's team in the field as part of her
study of bacteria in soil sediments.
"In terms of training for the future, the health component
is being integrated into the scientific thinking that never was
there before," says Dr. Isaac-Renton.
In one joint project sponsored by the CWN, the two researchers
are examining how urban expansion and agriculture contribute to
the spread of contaminants in the water system, the effects on human
and aquatic health, and what can be done to manage or change this.
The study, which wraps up in December 2004, is focusing on seven
small watersheds in the Lower Fraser Valley – a community
that has much in common with Walkerton, Ontario, including shallow
wells, extensive livestock operations, and porous soil.
The project could result in a first-of-its-kind early warning system
that identifies pollutants upstream, well before they reach the
tap. The project would also identify sensitive areas that require
a different approach to land management.
"Using GIS, we're measuring the chemistry and the bacterial
conditions and also looking at the land use, so we can determine
where these pathogens and nutrients are coming from," says
Dr. Schreier.
This collaborative work with the CWN is creating opportunities
for additional joint research. The Canadian Institutes of Health
Research, for example, is supporting a $852,000 three-year study
looking at safe water through enhanced surveillance. Dr. Schreier
and Dr. Isaac-Renton are among 20 researchers from across Canada
participating in the project with Health Canada and Environment
Canada. The goal is to work closely with municipalities to identify
high-risk areas before contamination occurs.
"Our CWN project has opened the door for other projects that
wouldn't have happened otherwise," says Dr. Isaac-Renton.
Dr. Schreier adds:"There are very few mechanisms in Canada
that provide financial support for interdisciplinary research. That's
why the Networks of Centres of Excellence is so critical, particularly
when it comes to safe drinking water."
www.cwn-rce.ca
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