Engineering Research to Improve the Safety of Drinking Water
Raul Vera III '24
Civil and Environmental Engineering
Eastville, Virginia
What drew you to this field of study?
I grew up in a coastal town on Virginia’s Eastern Shore peninsula. I worked each summer throughout high school as a clammer with my uncle and in construction with my dad. Construction work drew me into structural engineering, and being outside on the marshes of the Chesapeake Bay gave me a deep appreciation for our natural water resources. I found a perfect combination of my interest in the civil and environmental engineering program at UMass Amherst. Over time, I chose to focus on water resources engineering and hydrology.
How do you conduct your research?
My work aims to understand how organic matter enters the drinking water reservoirs of upstate New York. To do this, I compile long-term datasets on the geochemistry of streams from multiple federal and state agencies. I’m looking specifically at the Neversink River, which feeds into the Neversink Reservoir. I’ve also created a stream research station on campus with help from my lab group. We go to the station once a week to measure stream flow, stable water isotope compositions, and dissolved organic carbon concentrations. When there’s a storm, we take stream samples every few hours for a couple of days (sometimes up to a week) to see how rain and runoff affect organic matter transport. We hope to expand this effort to understand the transport of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (also known as "forever chemicals") as well.
What do you see as the impact—or potential impact—of your work?
New York City’s drinking water sources are classified as pristine, so the water doesn’t have to be filtered during the treatment process. This leads to organic material entering the disinfectant stage of treatment, where disinfectants such as chlorine are used to kill bacteria. The disinfectants have the unintended consequence of reacting with organic matter, creating disinfection byproducts (DBPs), some of which are potential carcinogens, such as trihalomethanes and haloacetic acids. By understanding organic material transport, I hope to find ways to feasibly remove DBPs from New York City’s drinking water, either by mitigating the creation of DBPs in pre-treatment or by removing DBPs after they have been created.
I found that UMass graduate and undergraduate researchers are amazingly dedicated and passionate about their work. Since I began my research, I’ve been inspired to strive to perform my best academically.
How does your faculty mentor support your research?
I met my faculty mentor, Professor Christian Guzman, through the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers (SHPE) chapter here at UMass, and shortly after asked to join his lab. Professor Guzman gave me the opportunity to join, and I had the chance to work with doctoral students and develop a research project of my own. He encourages me to perform to the best of my abilities in and out of the classroom. With his support, I have presented my research at the 2024 Massachusetts Undergraduate Research Conference (MassURC) and the 2024 SHPE National Convention, and will soon present at the American Geophysical Union annual meeting in December 2024.
What do you find most exciting about your research?
I love the variety involved in my research. There’s data analysis, coding, construction, fieldwork, community education, and lab experiments. My favorite part is going out for fieldwork and exploring multiple streams in the Pioneer Valley. The area is so beautiful, especially with the fall foliage. It’s also interesting to see how changes to small streams can have large impacts on areas downstream.
What are you most proud of?
I’m most proud of an outreach project I created with a couple of my friends in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering. We started a STEM club at a local high school and introduced students there to a variety of engineering fields. With help from my lab group, I organized and ran a workshop on water quality. Students had the chance to take water quality measurements from streams and ponds around campus and see how pH, dissolved oxygen, and temperature change along a stream transect to assess the health of the ecosystem.
How has your research enhanced your overall educational experience at UMass?
I’m happy that this project introduced me to the amazing researchers at UMass. I think it’s really important to have role models in your life, and I found that UMass graduate and undergraduate researchers are amazingly dedicated and passionate about their work. Since I began my research, I’ve been inspired to strive to perform my best academically. I look to Tess Hachey ’24 and Timothy Nsubuga (UMass PhD candidate) as key inspirations.
What are your plans for the future?
I’m currently applying for spring internships and to graduate schools for the fall. I’d like to pursue a PhD in which I explore how changes in hydrology and terrestrial-based disturbances (such as wildfires and urbanization) impact biogeochemical cycling at environmental interfaces and how coastal ecosystems cycle carbon and other nutrients. I’m applying to multiple marine science and coastal engineering graduate programs in the Chesapeake Bay area. Further down the road, I would like to live in an off-grid cabin with a little garden and a few cats.
Why would you recommend UMass to a friend?
I was initially intimidated by UMass and thought it would be hard to make friends at such a large university. However, I recommend it because I found that UMass creates small communities through RAPs (Residential Academic Programs) and freshman seminars. There are also so many extracurricular activities and amazing research opportunities you can get involved in.