CINCINNATI — Researchers with the University of Cincinnati are taking a closer look at Ohio’s drinking water.

They’re working to understand what happens when “Forever Chemicals” and toxins like PFAS seep into groundwater and how they might impact surface water found in lakes, rivers and reservoirs.

More than 2,000,000 people in Ohio rely on underground aquifers as a source of drinking water.

The effects of PFAS have been a hot topic for years in the Buckeye state. The chemicals are popular in manufacturing and are used in food packing, personal care products, clothes and many other everyday items, even firefighting foam.

According to research, a lifetime of exposure to certain levels of PFAS can cause serious health conditions linked to cancer, reproductive issues and immune problems.

However, a new study is bringing students, the EPA, and the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory together to better understand water quality.

For more than a year, researchers with the University of Cincinnati have been on the banks of the Great Miami studying what’s in the water and how that impacts groundwater.

Megan Naber is a Ph.D student at the University of Cincinnati. She studies Biogeochemistry and spends a lot of with a bucket in hand, collecting and testing water samples.

It all happens in a field operated by the University that is full of sensors used to monitor groundwater.

“But it’s all underground so it just looks like a field,” Naber said as she walked through the field.

The real discovery starts after she carefully walks down a dirt path to the Great Miami River. With a steady hand and a little patience, she’s able to collect what she needs for her research.

“We just captured a river water sample and we’re going to go back up and we’re going to filter it. That way we can get rid of all the gunk and stuff that we don’t want in our testing downstream,” Naber said.

Sometimes, Naber collects samples from the river and other times she can pull from underground pumps.

Filtering the water in the field is the next step.

She’s looking specifically for the types of nutrients that could be in the water. 

“Anything that the little microorganisms could be eating, any food sources that they might like in there,” she said.

For Naber, this work is exciting and could hold a lot of key data.

“It’s something that’s never been studied before so we don’t fully understand the effects that it could be having on our drinking water and it’s something that’s happening everywhere,” she said.

Once she leaves the field, Naber heads back to the lab.

The samples get refrigerated and tested and she discusses findings with her Geosciences Associate Professor Reza Soltanian.

“There is always an exchange between what is happening in groundwater and surface water, including lakes and rivers,” Soltanian said.

The main focus of the research asks the question ‘If one is contaminated, what about the others?’  

Pulling water samples isn’t the only way they can get a clear picture of what’s going on.

High-tech tools using electromagnetic induction help create an image.

“It is essentially MRI of subsurface,” Soltanian said.

 So far it’s been a lot of work, but having different agencies on board can make a big difference.

“EPA, PNNL, they come here and we have solid collaboration and I think it’s important for our student to see what’s happening with water quality not only with our region but worldwide,” Soltanian said.

For Naber, this research it’s just about the here and now.  

“Long term if there’s any contamination events or big issues that we see in our surface water, our steams, our rivers, we understand how that could then be affecting the water that we have to drink,” Naber said.

As she finishes the first year of her PhD studies, she’s left with a fulfilling feeling.

“Seeing it all play out so far has been awesome and I’m really excited to see how the analysis goes once we’re able to pull together all this data and hopefully create a story that helps out the society around us,” Naber said.