Proposal title: safe water together, science serving community institution: institute for water and health at georgia southern university principal investigator: asli aslan, PHD total cost: $2,040,000…

This Cooperative Agreement award of $2,040,000 from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) under the Congressionally Identified Awards and Projects program (CFDA 11.469) supports the "Safe Water Together" program led by the Institute for Water and Health at Georgia Southern University. This 4-year community-engaged research initiative aims to ensure sustainable and equitable access to safe water in coastal Georgia. The program engages a network of municipal governments, environmental agencies, businesses, schools, and local communities to address challenges related to rapid growth, aging water infrastructure, water contamination, and saltwater intrusion. Key activities include deploying cutting-edge water quality diagnostic techniques, conducting community assessments, implementing real-time water quality monitoring, and developing data analytics tools to support data-driven decision making by local water resource managers. The program seeks to lay the groundwork for addressing critical water-related issues in the region through collaborative scientific research and community partnerships.

Proposal title: safe water together, science serving community institution: institute for water and health at georgia southern university principal investigator: asli aslan, PHD total cost: $2,040,000 budget period: 4 years safe water together is a community-engaged research program designed to ensure sustainable and equitable access to safe water in coastal georgia. Led by the institute for water and health (IWH) at georgia southern university, this program engages network partners from municipal governments, environmental agencies, business and industry, school districts, academic faculty, and, notably, local communities. IT addresses current challenges originating from the regions rapid growth, economic development, aging water infrastructure, natural and man-made contaminants, and saltwater intrusion into the floridan aquifer. Safe water together seeks to utilize cutting-edge water quality diagnostic techniques to better serve coastal georgia residents this program will lay the groundwork for addressing key water-related challenges in georgia, such as non-point sources of pollution in surface water, saltwater intrusion to groundwater due to sea-level rise and increased water demand, and outdated wastewater treatment impacting major river systems. Recognizing each community has its own priorities, the safe water together program will conduct a series of assessment activities to ensure that project outcomes best align with community needs. Local community partners will actively participate at all stages of the project and CO-lead water quality monitoring programs to address data gaps. The data collected then will be shared real-time on a dashboard to facilitate data-driven decision making for local water resource managers. IWH will lead the development of data analytics and visualization tools and provide training to the project partners on the entire data lifecycle from collection to interpretation. By working alongside communities and implementing a robust dissemination strategy, the safe water together program aims to empower local communities to tackle global issues associated with equitable access to safe water. Moreover, IT will offer meaningful learning opportunities for local students, equipping them with the necessary skill sets for next-generation water professionals. Through research, education, and community engagement activities, this project will significantly advance sustainable water resource management by effectively communicating scientific findings to the public and informing policy through high-quality data. IT will address data gaps, enhance resilience, adapt to climate impacts, and meet the rising demand for safe water in coastal georgia.