Viral Pathogen and Surrogate Approaches for Assessing Treatment Performance in Water Reuse | EPA G2021 STAR A1

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

What is this EPA grant opportunity about?

This discretionary grant opportunity under the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Science to Achieve Results (STAR) program supports research to strengthen how water reuse systems evaluate and manage viral safety when the starting source water is wastewater. The overall aim is to improve the science and practical tools used to detect, monitor, and interpret human enteric viral pathogens in water reuse settings, and to connect those measurements to how treatment performance is measured and credited in real-world reuse treatment trains.

What is the main purpose of the research being funded?

The core purpose is to improve detection and monitoring approaches for human enteric viral pathogens in reuse settings and to generate defensible, quantitative treatment performance information (such as log reductions) across individual unit processes and full treatment trains. The work is intended to directly inform treatment performance measurement, unit process crediting, and viral risk assessment for water reuse applications.

Which EPA program is offering this funding?

The funding is offered through EPA's Science to Achieve Results (STAR) program.

What kind of funding instrument is this?

The Funding Instrument Type is a Grant.

What is the CFDA number for this opportunity?

The CFDA number listed for this opportunity is 66.509.

What is the opportunity number?

The opportunity number is EPA G2021 STAR A1.

When was this opportunity posted and when did it close?

The opportunity was posted on October 29, 2020, and the original closing date was January 6, 2021.

How much funding could an applicant receive?

The anticipated maximum award amount (award ceiling) was $1,240,000 per award.

How many awards were expected?

Approximately five awards were expected.

What is the funding activity category?

The Funding Activity Category is Environment.

What types of research topics does the solicitation emphasize?

The solicitation emphasizes research that advances viral monitoring and performance evaluation for water reuse, especially work that develops, evaluates, compares, and validates surrogates for human enteric viruses, improves detection and monitoring methods for reuse matrices, and produces quantitative datasets on treatment reductions across unit processes and full treatment trains.

What are "surrogates" in the context of this grant?

Surrogates are organisms, markers, or other measurable indicators that can stand in for human enteric viruses during monitoring and performance testing. They are used because directly measuring infectious human viruses in environmental samples can be technically challenging, expensive, slow, and sometimes inconsistent.

Why does the EPA want research on surrogates?

The EPA is seeking projects that examine both existing and novel surrogate approaches that may be more reliable, more practical for routine monitoring, or more predictive of actual health risk in water reuse settings. The goal is to move beyond general indicators and toward monitoring approaches that more directly track infectious virus behavior through treatment.

Does the grant focus only on detection, or also on treatment performance?

It focuses on both. In addition to improving detection and monitoring, the opportunity places strong emphasis on quantifying how effectively treatment processes reduce infectious viral pathogens and their surrogates. Applicants are expected to generate quantitative reductions, often expressed as log reductions, for individual unit processes and for full treatment trains.

What does "log reduction" mean in the context of this research?

Within the information provided, "log reductions" refers to quantitative reduction measurements used to describe how much infectious viral pathogens and/or their surrogates are reduced by treatment processes, both at individual treatment steps and across an entire treatment train.

What kinds of treatment processes are referenced as examples?

The notice references examples of unit treatment processes such as filtration steps, membrane processes, disinfection barriers, and advanced oxidation, and it expects evaluation across both individual units and full treatment trains.

What water reuse applications are in scope?

The work is expected to address detection and monitoring needs specific to water reuse applications where treated wastewater may be used for purposes such as irrigation, industrial uses, groundwater recharge, or potentially indirect or direct potable reuse depending on the context.

What practical outcomes is EPA aiming for?

A key practical outcome is improved viral risk assessment for water reuse. By better linking surrogate measurements and treatment performance data to infectious virus reductions, the resulting science can help refine viral log reduction targets, improve how utilities and regulators assign unit process credits, and reduce uncertainty in the design and operation of reuse systems.

How could the funded research affect unit process credits in real reuse systems?

The solicitation indicates that linking surrogate measurements and quantitative treatment performance data to infectious virus reductions can improve how utilities and regulators assign unit process credits, meaning how much reduction each unit is assumed to provide, and strengthen crediting frameworks used in reuse treatment evaluation.

What does the EPA mean by improving "interpretation" of virus presence?

Based on the description, interpretation refers to improving how monitoring results (including surrogate data) are used to understand viral safety in reuse settings and to directly inform how treatment performance is measured and credited. The intent is to translate lab and field measurements into better decisions about treatment requirements, monitoring strategies, and public health protection.

Is the research expected to be applicable to real-world reuse treatment trains?

Yes. The opportunity explicitly emphasizes strengthening evaluation and management of viral safety in real-world reuse treatment trains, including producing performance data that can be used to evaluate risk reduction at each stage of treatment and cumulatively across the entire system.

What does the notice say about eligibility?

Eligibility is listed broadly as "Others," with additional clarification provided in the full announcement. The notice points applicants to Section IV for details on eligibility, how to apply, submission requirements, and due dates.

Where are application and submission details described?

The notice indicates that application instructions, eligibility specifics, and due dates are provided in the full announcement, particularly in Section IV.