The major threats to water quality in the area come from both traditional and emerging contaminants that are related largely to human activity. These include contamination by chemicals related to industrial activities (such as organic solvents and metals) and agricultural chemicals including fertilizers and pesticides. Most of these pollutants are carcinogens and disrupt endocrine glands. The treated effluent that is released from wastewater treatment plants contain a number of micropollutants, including pharmaceuticals and personal care products. A large number of animal feeding operations are breeding grounds of antibiotic-resistant pathogens that end up in the surface water systems.
The presenter, Dr. Abinash Agrawal, is a professor of Earth and Environmental Sciences at Wright State University. His research expertise in the last 25+ years has been in the area of water quality, movement and natural degradation of drinking water contaminants found in surface water and groundwater, and development of pollutant treatment techniques by chemical and microbiological methods. He has directed and supervised the thesis research of 50+ MS and PhD students. He has published extensively in highly prestigious journals, and made 75+ presentations at national and international conferences.
