A Comprehensive Review and Field Study of Arsenic in Texas Drinking Water, Local and Statewide: Seeking Safe Water, Quantifying Public Health Risks, and Assessing the Effect of Climate Change

Overview

This project was meant to assess the public health risk posed by arsenic (As) in Texas drinking water on a local and statewide scale, find out if climate was affecting As concentrations statewide, and test the viability of both small scale and large scale solutions. The procedures include: (1)Modified Gutzeit method and ICP-MS were used to quantify As concentration; (2)a Linear regression was performed on total statewide annual violations and average PDSI, (3)an EPA equation (LADE x Cancer Slope Factor) gave cancer risks based on As concentrations found, and this risk was multiplied by the population exposed for total cases;(4)ICP-MFS testing on local water after reverse osmosis (RO) treatment; (5)New Hampshire (NH) was analyzed before and after enacting a 5ppb As MCL (maximum contaminant level) in 2021, as well as compared to Vermont (VT), a similar state that which remained under a 10ppb MCL. Results showed that 82% of local public samples were above the MCL. Local residences showed lower levels of As post-rain. Drought and the number of As violations had an r-score of 0.373, meaning drought was correlated with more As violations statewide. The local projected cancer rate was 6.7/1000. Statewide, 18,000-36,000 cancer cases will occur. RO reduced the local water to <0.5ppb. NH had a (.95 CL) significant reduction in mean Z-scores compared to VT after establishing a 5ppb As MCL in 2021. VT started off better but NH had less violations raw and proportionally after 2021. This project shows that As is a significant public health risk in Texas which gets worse during droughts but can be solved with filters or legislative change to reduce our MCL to 5ppb. The EPA/water companies can also focus their testing/preparation on expected droughts, when As will be at its peak.

Competition history

• ISEF 2025 Earth and Environmental Sciences · Entry EAEV039

Resources

• ISEF abstract page ↗

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