Addressing the extent of coastal urban CECs present via a key potential pathway: sewage leaked from aging sewer infrastructure reaching stormwater conveyance networks.

We (an interdisciplinary team) led by PI Dr. Natasha Bell have developed a new partnership among Virginia Tech, Extension, and the Cities of Hampton and Norfolk, the Public Works and Utilities Departments in Hampton Roads, community leaders and environmental justice coordinators, Virginia Sea Grant Program, and Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) to address the extent of coastal urban CECs present via a key potential pathway: sewage leaked from aging sewer infrastructure reaching stormwater conveyance networks. The proposed short term (18 months) field and laboratory testing project will target, “The prevalence, transport, and biogeochemical transformations of CECs across a watershed”, one of the themes listed in this Sea RFP. This project will focus on socioeconomic disadvantaged coastal communities in the Hampton Roads region of Virginia.

This project is made possible due to funding from the University of Connecticut/NOAA Sea Grant.