(79d) Partnership between Rice and City of Houston to Advance Sustainable and Resilient Water Systems

This talk will discuss ongoing collaborative projects between Rice University and the City of Houston related to advancing sustainable and resilient water management. Projects include quantitative modeling to assess the economic and environmental impacts of distributed direct potable reuse; modeling and pilot-scale studies on wastewater treatment plant resiliency to wet weather events; and wastewater monitoring for tracking community infection dynamics. We will highlight the benefits of university-utility collaborations for conducting both applied and fundamental research, and for developing site-specific solutions for water management systems and protecting public health.