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RESEARCH

Summaries and educational materials (toolkits, handouts, infographics, etc.) are publicly available resources, and the full scientific reports are free for Water Quality Association (WQA) members.

 ​If you are not a WQA member, please contact [email protected] to inquire about access to the full report(s) of interest. 
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Map
Reports
The Contaminant Occurrence Map contains water quality data from 2019-2023 for 22 different drinking water analytes in the United States.
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Surrogates for PFAS
Instead of trying to develop individual reduction standards for each of the currently known PFAS, the objective of this research was to investigate development of surrogate compound(s) that will cover multiple PFAS for product certification testing for activated carbon and ion exchange resins.
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SDWA Compliance
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Predictive Modeling
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Consumer Study
State primacy agencies and public water systems were surveyed to better understand how each state utilizes and manages Point-of-Use (POU) and Point-of-Use (POE) technologies for compliance.
The Predictive Modeling Study collected and assessed all available and relevant water quality data to generate a model that describes the most likely future drinking water contamination events over the next 5-10 years.
This independent study was performed by researchers from the University of Wisconsin system in June 2021, to gauge the American public’s knowledge of emerging contaminants in drinking water.
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Sustainability Comparison
This study examined point-of-use (POU) and point-of-entry (POE) devices in comparison to improvements to existing centralized systems for Safe Drinking Water Act compliance using a triple bottom line analysis.
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Emerging Contaminant Removal
Dr. Zhou at Purdue University investigated the removal efficiencies of 3 PFAS chemicals, Manganese, Uranium, and Legionella by POU RO and activated carbon. A second objective was to evaluate the effects of water quality and microbial growth on removal of these emerging contaminants.
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POU Filters for Monitoring
​​This study demonstrated a proof of concept using point-of-use filters as a method for monitoring tap water quality over long time periods in lieu of grab-samples.​
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POU Cost-Benefits
Found the calculated lifetime loss to the Flint, MI community from lead exposure is $435M, whereas it would have only cost $11M to fund a 5-year community intervention strategy supplying POU activated carbon filters with lead adsorption capabilities.

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Standard Test Protocol
A co-funded research undertaking at Virginia Tech resulted in the development of a standardized scaling test protocol for the evaluation of scale reduction devices and technologies. The  study developed a protocol that can be repeated in any laboratory to evaluate the performance of scale reduction technologies/devices.
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Boil Water Notices
The first comprehensive database of the cause for boil water notices (BWN) issued by public water systems in the U.S.
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Reducing Chloride Discharge
Study compared the chloride discharge to controls for neighborhoods that optimized existing water softeners and neighborhoods that replaced equipment with high-efficiency rated systems.
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Peak Water Demand
Data co-funding effort resulted in a statistically based probability model that would predict the peak water demand for single and multi-family dwellings having water-conserving plumbing fixtures.
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Counterfeit Filter Dangers
The purpose of the study was to investigate if counterfeit filters illegally using a manufacturer’s logo passed testing requirements of certification claimed made.
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Consumer Opinion Deep Dive
The objectives of this study were to gather information that would help focus the scope of future WQRF research and to educate the public on point-of-use and point-of-entry technologies.
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Softeners & Septic Systems
This study was undertaken to investigate the effect home ion-exchange water softeners may have on the performance of onsite septic tanks.
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Surrogate for VOCs
Laid the ground work in NSF/ANSI standards for carbon filter manufacturers to test effectiveness for chloroform and claim effectiveness for 53 regulated organic chemicals.


​Softened Water Benefits Studies

Calculator
Reports

Energy Saving Study
Conducted by 
​Battelle Memorial Institute

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Focused on efficiency improvements in household water heaters from the use of softened water, and the subsequent effect on performance of fixtures. 

Dishwasher Study
Conducted by ​Scientific Services S/D, Inc. 

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Quantified the relative effects of hardness and detergent dosage to show savings possible by softening hard water.

Laundry Study
Conducted by Scientific Services S/D, inc. 

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Compared the effects of detergent dose, water hardness and wash temperature on the stain removal performance of five household laundry detergents. 

WQRF | Knowledge of Quality Water


  • Home
    • WQRF Board
  • Network
    • Water Experts
  • 2025 Student Poster Gallery
  • RESEARCH
    • Research & Summaries
    • Webinars
    • Request for Proposals
  • Data Tools
    • Contaminant Map
    • 1-Minute Video Summaries
    • Softening Benefits Calculator
    • Softened Water Toolkit
  • EDUCATION
    • PFAS Resources
    • Contaminants & Risks
    • Treatment Options
  • Next Wave Campaign
    • Campaign Leadership
    • Campaign Supporters
  • Donate
  • Events
    • Walk for Water
    • WQRF @ WQA Convention