Local 12: UC investigates potential PFAS contamination in groundwater
UC launches a new water quality investigation along Great Miami River
Local 12 highlighted a new University of Cincinnati project to study water quality in southwest Ohio.
At the Theis-Nash Environmental Monitoring and Modeling Site along the Great Miami River, UC has studied the flow of water from the surface into the aquifer, a source of drinking water for much of southwest Ohio. These monitoring wells initially provided researchers with real-time data about the hydrodynamics of surface river water as it moved through the aquifer, particularly during periodic floods.
Assistant Professor Annette Rowe is studying the microbiology of groundwater along the Great Miami River. Photo/Andrew Higley/UC Marketing + Brand
Now the monitoring site named for UC Professor Emeritus David Nash and the late hydrogeologist C.V. Theis will turn its focus to excess nutrients like nitrogen and phosphorous and contaminants such as PFAS.
Groundwater is a source of drinking water for more than 2 million people in Ohio. Scientists are trying to understand what happens to chemicals such as PFAS, known as a forever chemicals, that leaches into the groundwater.
PFAS has been found in water along the entirety of the Ohio River.
UC microbiologist Annette Rowe, an assistant professor of biology, said many chemicals we release into the environment end up in our drinking water.
"The more we produce, the more we put into those ecosystems, the more they accumulate and have the potential to have detrimental impacts on every trophic level," she told Local 12.
We're just trying to understand what's going on and how big a problem it is. And every researcher's hope is that then will lead us to how do we fix these problems?" Rowe said.
UC is looking at ways microbes interact with the chemicals, which could make them less harmful to human health, Rowe said.
Featured image at top: UC students work with water samples at the groundwater observatory, which includes a network of monitoring wells. Photo/Andrew Higley/UC Marketing + Brand
Work crews dig a new monitoring well along the Great Miami River. Photo/Andrew Higley/UC Marketing + Brand
Related Stories
History Department Lecture
January 9, 2002
Lecture by Allan W. Winkler, Miami University, Oxford on "Urban America in World War II: Cincinnati as an example" at the Cincinnati Museum Center at 7:30pm.
UC Research Ranking Climbs
January 10, 2002
The University of Cincinnati moved up in two different national rankings established by the National Science Foundation (NSF) to compare college and university research efforts.
History Department Lecture
January 17, 2002
Lecture by Leslie Adelson, Cornell University, will deliver a Taft lecture titled "Back to the Future and Beyond 'Two Worlds':Turkish Lines of Thought in Contemporary German Literature and Memory Work" at 3:00pm in the Max Kade German Cultural Center in Old Chemistry.
New Appointments in McMicken Administration
January 21, 2002
The college is very pleased to announce two new appointments.
Sign Up for the Discovering A&S Elective
January 24, 2002
Parent's Asking, "What does someone do with THAT major?" Don't know all your options? Sign up for a 2 credit hour elective where you can meet A&S faculty, emeriti faculty, as well as, alumni.
Three of Four UC Fulbrights Scholars from McMicken
January 28, 2002
Tainted water supplies in Bangladesh, international security and missile defense, transformations in Mexico and greater understanding of India - this varied list sums up the work of four Fulbright Scholars at the University of Cincinnati who are concentrating on real-life issues involving our neighbors around the world.
Prominent Line-Up Examines Race in 2002 Ropes Series
January 31, 2002
The issue of race will receive one of the most intensive examinations undertaken in Cincinnati since the April riots when the University of Cincinnati Department of English launches its Ropes series in January and February 2002.
Nominate a Distinguished Alumni
January 31, 2002
The Purpose of the Distinguished Alumni Awards is to recognize graduates of the McMicken College of Arts and Sciences for outstanding achievements.
UC Physicists Play Important Role in Experiments That Provided New Understanding of Neutrinos
January 31, 2002
Three physicists at the University of Cincinnati played a key role in recent experiments which provided a surprising new understanding of a tiny subatomic particle known as the neutrino.
Angelene Jamison-Hall: Publishing Award
February 13, 2002
An unpublished novel by Angelene Jamison-Hall won first place in the new writing contest sponsored by River View Publishing in Riverside, Iowa.