First Responder Tools and Training

Globally about a quarter of the world’s population is vulnerable to rapid catastrophic contamination of underground “karst aquifer” drinking waters from harmful agents. These include pathogens such as typhoid, cholera, hepatitis and listeria, as well hazardous materials present in buildings, transport containers, pipelines, and refuse at the land’s surface. Karst aquifers generally have direct openings to the surface, making water vulnerable to activities at the surface, including actions by first responders to control fire during emergencies. First responders in South-Central Texas are now testing training and tools for use on-site during emergencies that will help prevent lethal contaminates from entering drinking water supplies. We will conduct new work that will have direct and immediate results on first responders’ capacity to protect the public health of vulnerable populations from localized pandemic-like consequences. The training and tools can be adapted to protect vulnerable populations in karst areas worldwide. This is our goal.

Our goal is to protect vulnerable populations from harm due to hazardous pathogens and materials entering karst aquifer drinking waters during  emergency and firefighting first response. A pilot project now underway will help protect a vulnerable population of about 3 million drawing drinking water from a karst aquifer covering 2 million acres stretched across 180 miles of South-Central Texas. Once tested locally, we hope to expand training to first responders in karst areas elsewhere in the U.S. and globally. In the U.S., 20% of the land’s surface is karst and 40% of the groundwater used for domestic water supply comes from vulnerable karst aquifers. Globally more than 25% of the world’s population is using groundwater from karst aquifers. Without preventative measures, drinking water contamination from a pathogen or hazardous materials event in a karst aquifer is not only possible, but probably inevitable, especially in underdeveloped countries where water treatment options may be lacking. This Solution is focused on preventing or reducing the impact of such pandemic-like events.

This project will help protect aquifer water quality in urban, rural and agricultural areas in karst watersheds worldwide by providing unique Best Management Practices (BMPs) for protecting the drinking water aquifer and for development of planning and training materials for first responders to use during emergency events.  Protection will come from preventing or reducing discharge of hazardous or pathogenic materials into drinking water, in particular in water runoff from response to emergencies such as fire or service line breaks where there may be hazardous or pathogenic materials released and accidents along transportation corridors. Due to the unique nature of karst aquifers, if highly hazardous material or pathogens enter the drinking water supply during even a single event, public health could be affected. Our Solution includes the following: 

1. Develop a locally-relevant and comprehensive set of BMPs for aquifer protection.
2. Design and deliver first responder training curricula and instructional materials (including web-based and in-person training) for water quality protection in karst aquifers in rural and agricultural areas.
3. Build a georeferenced database and user interface including data layers displaying sensitive areas, water flow direction on site, and  recommendations for protective actions. For underdeveloped areas we will develop an alternative "hard copy" usable format.

With about 15% of the Earth’s surface entirely or partly consisting of karst watersheds, more than 25% of the global population depends entirely or partly on freshwater from karst aquifers. Unfortunately such aquifers are vulnerable to contamination and difficult to manage because of their unique nature. Sinkholes at the surface leading to the aquifer, especially in rural areas, are often used as dumps for community, farm, and industrial trash and hazardous materials. Sinkholes can also serve as catchments for human sewage and runoff from animal pens. Openings to the aquifer are often near corridors of transportation where materials washing off roads and railways can contaminate underground waters. Actions taken by Last-Mile Workers during emergency responses, such as those associated with public health, fire control and service line repair, can inadvertently introduce pathogens along with other hazardous materials into underground drinking waters. This can take place in urban, rural and agricultural areas. We are working directly with first responders and hazardous materials experts on all phases of the pilot work. We will engage emergency and public health officials, and community leaders in evaluating and adapting the training, tools, and practices.

We directly address the Challenge’s need for Last-Mile responder training and data that informs them on best practices for response, by providing technology-driven techniques and tools that support health worker efforts to limit or prevent harmful pathogens and hazardous materials from entering drinking water supplies. Training and tools will enable Last-Mile Responders to limit or block the spread of health threats in drinking water supplies. Last-Mile Responders will gain curricula and tools to identify threats and take defensive actions to protect sensitive water supplies and public health, potentially for up to 25% of the world’s population.

Prototype aptly describes the stage of work now underway.  First responder training curricula have been completed, but the first "pilot" training of first responders has yet to be scheduled (COVID-19 has delayed in-person training activities). Site visualization and planning tools have been developed, but not yet tested in real-life situations. Peer-review has resulted in published Best Management Practices to protect drinking waters, but adaption of training and tools for use beyond urban areas of South-Central Texas and into rural and agricultural areas has yet to be started.

Our work now underway is the first effort of which we are aware to develop locally relevant training and site visualization tools for first responders to protect vulnerable populations from hazardous materials and harmful pathogens in karst aquifer drinking water supplies. As such, we are not aware of any competitors.  

What most likely makes our approach unique is that it is locally-driven. Locations of hazardous materials and areas at high risk of pathogen release, as well as points of entry from the surface directly to karst aquifer waters are highly localized. Our approach makes use of available big data and georeferencing data sets on a locally relevant basis.  Our curricula and training are also designed for local relevancy.  This approach can’t be produced on an assembly line.  It requires contact with local first responders and involvement of experts with local knowledge.

Once underway, our pilot project will directly protect the karst aquifer water that supplies San Antonio, Texas, the 7th largest city in the U.S. with about 1.5 million people. All work has been delayed by COVID-19 restrictions, but we expect to begin first responder training soon. As a result, while the number of people this project work currently protects is now zero (0), we expect within the next few months that number will be about 1.5 million.

Our immediate goal is to expand as soon as possible the training and georeferenced tools to extend training and tool to cover the entire karst Edwards Aquifer which spans over 2 million acres stretched across 180 miles of South-Central Texas, and provides part or all of the water supply for over 3 million people.

A longer-term goal is to use this project as a model for training and tools to protect vulnerable populations nationally and worldwide. In the U.S., as much as 20% of the land surface is karst and as much as 40% of the groundwater used for drinking comes from karst aquifers. Globally as much as 25% than a quarter of the world’s population depends entirely or partly on freshwater from karst aquifers, with the associated karst watersheds covering about 7-12% of the world’s land surface (Schindel and Rosen, 2021.

Summary (likely to occur):

Now: 0

One year: 1.5 million

Five years: over 3 million  

Reference:   https://doi.org/10.21423/twj.v12i1

Project evaluation is covered through evaluation by an expert advisory committee that will be formed and meet at least five times during the course of the project to review all aspects of work and progress, suggest data to collect on progress, and help evaluate project effectiveness in relevant quantitative and qualitative ways. For example, a series of surveys will be directed to stakeholders and timed to help evaluate project effectiveness, improve adoption, and help evaluate and understand overall success of actions to reduce risk to and protect water supplies during emergency response.

The solution team was established through a partnership created under a grant from the City of San Antonio to the Texas A&M University in San Antonio’s Institute for Water Resources Science and Technology. Continuation of the project beyond the pilot project now underway would be coordinated through the Texas A&M University in San Antonio’s Institute for Water Resources Science and Technology.

There are nine individuals who have played significant roles on the team.  Several are locally based and would not participate in work outside of the local area. There are no full time staff.  All members contribute to the project part time, either paid by the grant or as in-kind contributors.

Team members have the qualifications and on-the-ground experiences to meet all objectives, including senior-level experience in large-scale project management, $100-million+ grant administration, stakeholder outreach and partnership development, expert panel processes, development of training curricula, public and nonprofit agency administration and process, and development of best management practices for protecting aquifer water quality. The project director has experience qualifications leading government regulatory agencies, nonprofit organizations, and university institutes.

Work leading up to this project has been conducted by the project director and other team members and has been cited in numerous peer-reviewed publications.

Team members have  partnerships with large numbers of stakeholders, emergency responders, and public health officials. Communications will be leveraged with work now underway on two ongoing projects by the project director. These projects involve urban, agricultural and rural stakeholders  in South-Central Texas.

Work on early aspects of the project has been underway for about twelve years by team member from the Edwards Aquifer Authority.  Work on the current project began with drafting a proposal three years ago by Texas A&M University in San Antonio. Funding of $212,000 and $78,000 in-kind contribution was received in September 2019. Work on the pilot as described in responsive questions to MIT-Solve has been underway since that time.

The current project was uniquely designed to make use of team members’ stakeholder outreach experience and specialized technical skills in karst aquifer protection, emergency response training, and integration of technology in delivery of big data for land and water resources decision making and assessment.

Team Members:

Texas A&M University in San Antonio’s Institute for Water Resources Science and Technology . Institute director and Solution Team leader, Dr. Rudolph Rosen, is a leading voice in Texas for water security planning and development of an internet for water data and water resource modeling.

Edwards Aquifer Authority (EAA). The EAA is the government management agency for the Edwards Aquifer and employs some of the world’s top experts on karst aquifer protection.

Texas A&M University Extension Service (TEEX).  The Fire and Emergency Services training academy operated by TEEX is one of the world’s foremost emergency services training sites, offering training programs and technical assistance to public safety workers world-wide.

San Antonio Fire Department (SAFD). The SAFD employs cutting edge technologies and serves the seventh largest city in the U.S.

Barriers to reaching our ultimate goals of coverage beyond the karst aquifer of South-Central Texas will be 1) lack of funding for work in karst aquifers beyond Texas, 2) lack of access to local resources and people (first responders and subject matter experts), and 3) lack of a functional business model that enables internationally relevant work strong connected at the local level.

Solve may be able to help with all three, however it may be lack of a functional business model that may be the most significant barrier given our starting point, and also may be the most readily solved by MIT Solve. Because Solve has access to expertise in academic and business environments, Solve may be well-suited to help guide our transition from delivering a local Solution requiring very localized resources to delivering a global solution that requires very localized resources. How does one attempt to “scale up” such an undertaking? Solve may also be well-suited to evaluate our current university nonprofit grant-driven model versus a more generalized nonprofit model suitable for partnerships involving a university, local communities, emergency services agencies, and technical experts.

In the area of financing, we know Solve has access to the kind of resources we will need to adapt and develop locally relevant solutions to the global need to protect water quality.  However, our financing model is NOT to raise revenue or make lots of money for investors, it's to achieve mission.  It's to finance the technical and social requirements that we will need to export protective training and solutions to help protect the 25% of the World's population who depend on karst aquifers for life, agriculture and economy.

We feel that Solve can provide needed global media assistance
as well.  As we seek to adapt training and tools to meet global needs
for drinking water protection in karst environments so we will need
assistance for marketing globally.  This will not be for sales or typical marketing purposes. It will be for the purpose of promoting adoption of life-saving techniques to protect drinking water aquifers.

Finally, our need for better business planning and our
feeling that Solve is an excellent source for such assistance was
described in detail in answer to other questions, so we list it again
here.

We do not know Solve members or have specific ideas on partnerships from the Solve network.  We already have access to karst aquifer experts worldwide and technical experts capable of developing training curricula for emergency responders and georeferenced database tools and user interfaces. Where we lack partners is on the business model and sustainable development side of the project, long term. This is where Solve could play a significant role in assisting advance our solution. 

Further, for our Solution and Solution Team to evolve and scale up, we will need to transition from delivering a local Solution requiring very localized resources to delivering a global solution that requires very localized resources. This will require partnering with local stakeholders in every application.  Stakeholders will include emergency responders, community officials, people with expertise on local karst aquifer features and hydrogeology, and holders of local data usable for building georeferenced materials for use by first responders. Stakeholders may be in local organizations or agencies, universities, or individuals.