53 Community Engaged Research for Environmental Sustainability and Community Resilience

We welcome trans-disciplinary submissions with a strong focus on community engagement in research development or implementation, especially research addressing issues of sustainability in water, air quality, land use, energy, climate change, and environmental justice.

Sunday, 19 October 2025
1:30 PM - 5:30 PM
HBGCC, 302B

Drinking water quality assessment through community-based participatory research in a suburban neighborhood in Texas: The case of Austin’s Colony

Paper number: 53-14
Program: Technical Sessions
Time: 3:38 PM – 3:53 PM

Authors

Abstract

Increasing water scarcity is driving many drinking water suppliers to mix water from different sources, potentially leading to water quality issues. Residents of Austin’s Colony in central Texas have received hard water and intermittent discolored water for over a decade. The neighborhood is supplied from a shallow alluvial aquifer and a deeper sandstone aquifer. Residents face burdens from high water rates, purchasing bottled water, and in-home water treatment systems. We investigate the extent and causes of water issues in Austin’s Colony through Community-Based Participatory Research (CBPR). The investigators represent academics, residents, and community organization staff. We conducted community meetings, surveys (n=100), and bacterial and chemical analyses (cations, anions, Sr isotopes) of tap water samples (n=69). CBPR was essential for defining objectives and accessing water sampling points. Most survey participants (70%) reported discolored water events, and only 7% drink tap water without treatment. Several metal concentrations exceed regulatory limits, including Al, Mn, Fe, Cu, and Pb in untreated water samples, but were below regulatory standards in treated samples. Geochemical analysis shows that the water composition at each household varies based on mixing between two or three groundwater sources and that the alluvial aquifers are the sources of the hardness. Mixing models allow us to quantify the percentage of each water source that supplies a given household. This high spatial resolution of water quality relative to the location of distribution network entry points for the three water sources confirms that groundwater mixing occurs within the network. This mixing also may drive water quality changes associated with corrosion and mineral precipitation in the pipeline, which, along with water turbulence, may explain discoloration events. This high spatial resolution approach can be implemented in other distribution networks that mix water from different sources to inform water management practices. We highlight the importance of monitoring household water quality and evaluating practices to address water scarcity in rapidly growing areas.

Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs. Vol. 57, No. 6

doi: 10.1130/abs/2025AM-414163

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