Tue, Mar 21, 2023 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM MDT EPA’s Office of Water’s Source Water Protection (SWP) team will be presenting on two tools: The Drinking Water Mapping Application to Protect Source Waters (DWMAPS) and the Funding Integration Tool for Source Water (FITS). In addition, there will be a brief overview of the background and concepts of source water protection. Both tools were developed by the SWP Program and can be used either independently or in tandem by many stakeholders for their source water protection needs. DWMAPS incorporates layers from other EPA programs and federal agencies that inform users of potential sources of contamination, land use trends, ongoing source water protection projects and collaborations, and more. Webcast participants will learn how to utilize spatial data from DWMAPS and upload…
I. Using Molecular Methods to Study Cyanobacterial Blooms. This presentation introduces molecular monitoring approaches used in the detection and quantification of cyanobacterial groups and cyanotoxin genes implicated in harmful algal blooms. Results will be presented from next generation sequence analysis and qPCR/RT-qPCR methods to characterize cyanobacterial community structure, associated bacterial community, toxic cyanobacteria, and geographically localized genotypes or species. The methods study cyanobacterial functional genes associated with nutrients in toxin production, their relationship to water quality parameters, and explore drivers of cyanotoxin production using mRNA-based sequence analysis. This presentation also discusses occurrence, distribution, temporal-spatial variations of cyanobacteria, especially toxin-producers, and use as early warning systems for cyanotoxin production. II. Funding Integration Tool for Source Water: Finding a Plan a FITS. With different funding mechanisms available, it can be difficult finding…
