The following topics have been identified as research priorities for Environmental Science and Engineering

1. Develop integrated wastewater risk assessment tools



2. Assess/quantify risks due to microbial pathogens



3. Develop/evaluate methods for incorporating centralized, onsite and storm-water contributions in TMDL calculations



4. Develop/evaluate models designed to reliably predict fate and transport of nutrients for use in assessing risks to watershed water quality



5. Identify and characterize the basic mechanisms by which pathogens are contained or inactivated in conventional/alternative/advanced wastewater systems



6. Characterize the effect of pretreatment on soil clogging and wastewater soil absorption systems (WSAS) hydraulic and purification performance



7. Develop effective methods to estimate pollutant contributions (nutrients and pathogens entering watersheds) from new or existing WSAS



8. Quantify the deterioration of centralized and decentralized wastewater infrastructures



9. Conduct review of existing monitoring and treatment technologies



10. Develop effective models to predict soil treatment (residence time, loading rates, dose frequency, biomat effects, soil profiles)



11. Determine the relationship between system performance and age of operation for similar WSAS in similar environments



12. Develop effective site evaluation methods to facilitate design of soil-based treatment systems that maximize use of soils and minimize mechanical pretreatment (smart designs)



13. Identify appropriate levels of pretreatment/pretreatment technologies (black boxes) needed to allow minimal reliance on soil treatment



14. Develop/evaluate methods for identifying and quantifying sources of pollutants



15. Evaluate actual life spans and failure rates of onsite and decentralized systems



16. Develop/evaluate methods for assessing the treatment capacity (nutrients and pathogens) of a site



17. Identify/develop appropriate models for predicting treatment efficiency (system performance) as a function of siting, design, and operation



18. Develop/evaluate effective methods to assess the hydraulic capacity of a site for use with large/cluster WSAS



19. Evaluate (quantify) fate and transport (including survival) of pathogens in saturated soils



20. Evaluate pathogen containment and inactivation in cluster systems



21. Conduct epidemiological studies to quantify public health risks



22. Develop/evaluate appropriate site evaluation methods to support performance-based standards