BC Environmental and Occupational Health Research Network

Water Research Foundation has undertaken the Distribution System Water Quality Strategic Initiative to develop integrated projects focused on water quality changes that take place within drinking water distribution systems, including premise plumbing. The Foundation will commit up to $1 million in funding per year for the initiative, which is expected to be substantially leveraged with partner co-funding and researcher in-kind contributions. Water Research Foundation has traditionally funded significant research on distribution system water quality. With the Distribution System Water Quality Strategic Initiative, the Foundation is now enhancing its efforts to solve distribution system water quality challenges by developing a sustained, multi-year, integrated research effort. The initiative is focusing on water quality degradation due to transformations that take place within the distribution system, such as pipes, tanks, and plumbing. Water quality can also be affected by loss of physical integrity (such as contaminant intrusion due to breaks or faulty repairs) and hydraulic integrity of pipes (such as contaminant intrusion due to low or negative pressures). Although physical and hydraulic integrity are not directly addressed in this initiative, they are important variables in maintaining distribution system water quality and are addressed through selected research projects under the Foundation’s other research programs.