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ARS Home » Pacific West Area » Maricopa, Arizona » U.S. Arid Land Agricultural Research Center » Water Management and Conservation Research » Research » Research Project #444572

Research Project: Identify the Effective Microalgae-Based Strategies to Ensure Food Safety in Reclaimed Water Irrigated Soils

Location: Water Management and Conservation Research

Project Number: 2020-13000-005-014-R
Project Type: Reimbursable Cooperative Agreement

Start Date: Oct 1, 2022
End Date: May 31, 2024

Objective:
The overall goals of the proposed study are to increase our understanding on the microalgae-based approach for reclaimed water treatment, and to identify the best management strategies for effectively reducing the potential health risks of crop irrigated with recycled municipal wastewater (or reclaimed water) along with economically producing biofuels from wastewater-cultivated microalgae.

Approach:
The overall goal of the proposed project is to develop adaptive management strategies to reduce the risks of CECs when using reclaimed water for crop production, and to increase our understanding on the microalgae-based management strategies for removing the CECs and bringing additional values. The research team is composed of a water chemist, two environmental engineers, two biosystem engineers, and a soil scientist from Clemson University and US Department of Agriculture – Agricultural Research Service (USDA-ARS). Through a series of greenhouse, laboratory, and field experiments in this 4-year study, we will ultimately develop an effective and efficient approach for mitigating the unknown risk of environmental health in the agricultural food system.