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Civil, Construction and Environmental Engineering

New EPA-Funded Project to Strengthen Gulf Coast Water Monitoring

By Natalie Crouse

The Environmental Protection Agency has awarded a grant to support a three-year initiative improving water quality monitoring across coastal Alabama and Mississippi. The project, titled “PFAS Monitoring, Convening, Environmental Awareness and Portal for Alabama & Mississippi,” is led by principal investigator Dr. Leigh Terry with co-principal investigator Dr. Mark Elliott.

The team will collect more than 1,200 water samples and produce the first published PFAS data for Gulf Coast waters in Alabama and Mississippi. PFAS, or per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances, are a group of human-made chemicals that persist in the environment and can pose risks to human and ecological health.

Although the project just launched last month, Terry noted that the team is building the PFAS stakeholder consortium and will begin sample collection soon. This early phase is focused on coordinating regional partners and establishing the foundation for data gathering and analysis.

To make the findings accessible and actionable, all results will be integrated into an interactive GIS portal developed in collaboration with the Alabama Water Institute, allowing utility companies, policymakers and the public to visualize contaminant levels and track trends over time.

In addition, a new Consortium of regional stakeholders—including the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center, Insite Engineering and North Baldwin Utilities—will work together to develop strategies for addressing PFAS and other emerging contaminants. This collaborative approach is designed to serve as a model for other Gulf States.

The project aims to deliver critical data, equip utilities with design tools and management strategies, and enhance community awareness to ensure safe water quality along the Gulf Coast.

The University of Alabama     |     Lee J. Styslinger Jr. College of Engineering