Environmental Engineering Laboratory

Lab Description

DRI’s Environmental Engineering Laboratory is fully equipped for developing state-of-the-art advanced water treatment technologies, implemented renewable energy-based water treatment processes, testing emerging water treatment technologies, site restoration and water quality solutions. It has significant environmental chemistry instrumentation and has access to in-house and collaborative support equipment.

About the Environmental Engineering Laboratory (EEL)

Increasing urban population is a phenomenon currently occurring in most parts of the world mainly because the perceived benefits of urban living. As result, irrevocable changes to the landscape and economic, social and environmental impacts on a region are registered nowadays. About 53% (3.8 billion) of the estimated world population (7.2 billion) are living in urban areas nowadays and this amount is projected to increase to 66% by 2050.

A related issue to the increasing urban population is the increasing shortage of safe and reliable water sources. Seasonal and sometimes perennial water shortages are common feature in many parts of the world with the concurrent escalating demand for residential, commercial and industrial uses. Increasing living standards exert pressure on water demand, lading to overexploitation of surface and groundwater resources and declining water quality. The situation is further compounded by changes to rainfall patterns and increasing unreliability of the rainfall seasons along with the pollution of surface and groundwater resources caused by anthropogenic activities limiting the availability of safe water resources to those regions where treatment is economically feasible.

It is imperative that before climate change related impacts force communities to use contaminated water without adequate safeguards, proper water treatment technologies can be developed and implemented to mitigate potential human and ecosystem health risk. Inability to appropriately manage the presence of contaminants (e.g., chemicals and/or pathogens) in water entail the risk of squandering the opportunity to gainfully using available water resource in many urban areas.

The Environmental Engineering Lab is fully equipped for developing state-of-the-art advanced water treatment technologies, implemented renewable energy-based water treatment processes, testing emerging water treatment technologies, site restoration and water quality solutions. It has significant environmental chemistry instrumentation and has access to in house and collaborative support equipment.

Contact:

Erick R. Bandala (PI). Division of Hydrologic Sciences. Desert Research Institute. 755 E. Flamingo Road, Las Vegas, NV 89119.

CONTACT

Erick R. Bandala, Ph.D.
Lab Director
Erick.Bandala@dri.edu

LAB LOCATION

Desert Research Institute
755 East Flamingo Road
Las Vegas, NV 89119

DIVISION

Hydrologic Sciences