Research Project Description

Optimizing Quality Water Production Through Field Methods and Protocols
Postgraduate Internship Program
Office of Water
Office of Ground Water and Drinking Water
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Cincinnati, OH

EPA-OW/OGWDW 2013-01

Project Description:

A postgraduate internship project is available at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Office of Water in Cincinnati, Ohio. The internship will be served with the Office of Ground Water and Drinking Water in the Technical Support Center (TSC). 

This project will provide the participant a unique opportunity to be a member of TSC’s drinking water optimization team and to collaborate with state and federal drinking water regulators and individual water systems. The project will involve developing field methods and protocols for optimizing the quality of water that is produced, stored and conveyed by public drinking water systems. Ultimately, the field protocols developed will be implemented with water systems by primacy agencies that participate in the Area-Wide Optimization Program to enhance public health protection and improve drinking water quality. The intern will also have the opportunity be involved in the implementation of the developed protocols.

Specific components of the protocols to be developed will likely include one or more of the following:

• In-plant and distribution system water quality goals and monitoring goals.
• Evaluation and enhancement of water quality field test methods for both discrete sampling and continuous analyzers.
• Process control methods for upflow clarification processes.
• Water quality surrogates for water age and water quality degradation in the distribution system.
• An evaluation technique to assess water system performance and technical assistance tools to improve performance.
• Development of new and/or enhancement of existing data management and analysis systems.

The participant will physically be located in drinking water treatment plants and distribution systems, while interacting with primacy agency and drinking water system staff.  S/he will have the opportunity to conduct some laboratory research at the host facility. Applicable safety training will be available at the host facility. It is anticipated that approximately 30 percent of this project will include local or overnight travel. This experience should provide an invaluable opportunity to expand the intern’s knowledge of drinking water treatment and distribution.

Qualifications:

Applicants should have received at least a bachelor’s degree in civil, environmental, or chemical engineering within five years of the starting date, or completion of all requirements for the degree should be expected prior to the starting date. Experience with sampling and analyzing data from water distribution systems is desired.

The program is open to all qualified individuals without regard to race, sex, religion, color, age, physical or mental disability, national origin, or status as a Vietnam era or disabled veteran. U.S. citizenship or lawful permanent resident status is preferred (but the applicant can also hold an appropriate visa status, however, a H1B visa is not appropriate).

The participant will be selected based upon academic records, recommendations, research interests and on compatibility of background and interests with research programs and projects at TSC. The deadline for applying for this project is May 31, 2013.

The appointment will initially be full-time for a one-year period and may be renewed for an additional two years depending on the availability of funding and upon recommendation of EPA. The annual stipend will range from $42,000 to $51,600. The participant will receive a monthly stipend based upon educational level and prior experience. The participant must show proof of health insurance. This can be obtained through ORISE. The intern does not become an EPA employee.

Technical Questions:

The EPA contact person for this project is Richard Lieberman. He can be contacted at lieberman.richard@epa.gov.

How to Apply:

The Internship/Research Participation Program for EPA’s Office of Water-OGWDW is administered by the Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education (ORISE). Please reference Project # EPA-OW/OGWDW 2013-01 when calling or writing for information. For additional information and application materials contact: Research Participation Program/EPA, Attn: Betty Bowling, Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education, P.O. Box 117, Oak Ridge, Tennessee 37831-0117, Phone: (865) 576-8503 FAX: (865) 241-5219 e-mail:betty.bowling@orau.org.

An application can be found at http://www.orau.gov/partform/EPA/EPA_Application.pdf.