The Safe Water Equity and Longevity Lab (SWELL) is focused on bridging gaps between scientific discovery, technology design, and safe water access. Our translational research integrates methods from environmental engineering, human centered design, and public health.
Research Areas
DEFINE. Drinking water supplies are becoming increasingly polluted as a result of corroding infrastructure, agricultural and industrial waste, geogenic mineral dissolution, and extreme weather events. Chemical contaminants including dissolved metals, salts, and microplastics are linked to multiple adverse health impacts, which disproportionately impact vulnerable populations and marginalized communities. Through key informant interviews, data visualization, and field surveys, we can better define, contextualize, and address safe water challenges.
DESIGN. Over a quarter of the world’s population still lacks access to safely managed drinking water services, defined by the UN as water sources that are accessible on premises, available when needed, and free of chemical and microbiological contamination. Despite centuries of scientific and engineering advancements, access to safe drinking water remains limited. Current methods to monitor and remediate contaminants are cost-prohibitive, culturally inappropriate, cumbersome, and complex to operate and maintain long-term. Through experimental research, hardware prototyping, and iterative testing in field settings, we can better design safe water technologies with lower material, labor, and waste demands.
DEPLOY. We are interested in conducting impact-driven, actionable, and translational research. Our work is rooted in environmental justice principles and we actively collaborate with local community, government, and private-sector partners to scale up and deploy meaningful solutions. In an effort to advance safe water access in resource-limited settings, we seek to transfer technical expertise and open-sourced technologies to underserved populations impacted by chemical and microbial contamination of drinking water supplies.
Projects
- Mapping lead contamination of water fountains in WA schools and childcare facilities
- Visualizing temporal & geospatial trends in global household water treatment practices
- Building portable, wireless biosensors to monitor lead levels in school water supplies
- Characterizing perceptions of drinking water quality, safety, and risk in public institutions
- Applying circular economy approach to reuse waste produced by drinking water treatment plants
- Modifying low-cost, natural materials to selectively sequester inorganic chemical contaminants
