selected current projects
Safe Drinking Water Access in rural Appalachia
Issues of water infrastructure, quality, and access persist in the Appalachian region. Ongoing effort by our group are investigating reliance on roadside "spout" springs for potable water, demographic factors influencing private system (e.g. well) water quality, the potential of point of use (POU) filters as a household intervention, and the development of watershed epidemiology strategies to link drinking water access and health.
Bridging the Gap: Delivering Effective Remote Learning Opportunities
The early dismissal of in-school learning due to COVID-19 has essentially added an additional three-month ‘summer’ of limited access for some students, during which the achievement gap could magnify, deepening urban/rural, racial, and income disparities in education. We aim to develop STEM-based educational strategies to minimize the achievement gap for rural Virginian students upon return to in-class instruction, as well as unique modes of delivery and assessment.
Training Future Leaders to Solve Resource Challenges at the Confluence of Water and Society
This nine-week USDA Research and Extension Experience for Undergraduates (REEU) program brings together students representing multiple disciplines from across the country to explore research, outreach, and education in water sustainability.
Effective Mitigation Strategies for Antimicrobial Resistance in Agro-ecosystems
As food production continues to increase to meet global demands, there is the potential for a concurrent reliance on livestock-derived organic fertilizer (e,g, manure, compost), rendering soil a significant potential environmental reservoir for antibiotic resistance. This effort considers multiple points of intervention to reduce antibiotic resistance, including herd health management, manure treatment and application practices, and crop harvesting and preparation.
publications
*Krometis group student author
Patton*, H., E. Sarver, L. Lehmann, J. Parks, L. Krometis. (in press, 2024) Recovery of lead, iron, and copper from point-of-use filters to examine performance. Environmental Advances.
Albritton, M., K. Kolivras, B. Chang, N. Copeland, G. Prado., L. Krometis. (in press, 2024) "Dying of thirst, like fish in the sea": Syndemic health impacts and environmental risk perceptions associated with mining among the Ch’orti’ of eastern Guatemala. Journal of Latin American Geography.
Young, H., K. Kolivras, J. Gohlke, L. Krometis, C. Marcillo*. 2024. Unregulated drinking water contaminants and adverse birth outcomes in Virginia. PLoS Water. 3(5): e0000208.
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pwat.0000208
Hohweiler*, K., L. Krometis, E. Ling, K. Xia. 2024. Incidence of per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in private drinking water supplies in Southwest Virginia, USA. Science of the Total Environment. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.172539
Cohen, A., P. Vikesland, A. Pruden, L. Krometis., L. Lee, A. Darling, M. Yancey, M. Helmick, R. Singh, R. Gonzalez, M. Meit, M. Degen, M. Taniuchi. 2024. Making waves: The benefits and challenges of responsibly implementing wastewater-based surveillance for rural communities. Water Research. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.watres.2023.121095
Patton*, H., L. Krometis, E. Ling, A. Cohen, E. Sarver. 2024. Faucet-mounted point-of-use drinking water filters to improve water quality in households served by private wells. Science of the Total Environment. 906: 167252. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.167252
Patton*, H., L. Krometis, B. Faulkner, A. Cohen, E. Ling, E. Sarver. 2023. Development of a simple at-home disinfection strategy to reduce harm from roadside spring use. Journal of Contemporary Water Research and Education. 178: 1-16.
Sterling, C., L. Krometis, T. Pingel, L. Winling. 2023. Connections between present day water access and historical redlining. Environmental Justice. https://doi.org/10.1089/env.2022.0115
Darling, A., H. Patton*, M. Rasheduzzaman, R. Guevara, J. McCray, L. Krometis, A. Cohen. 2023. Microbiological and chemical drinking water contaminants and associated health outcomes in rural Appalachia: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Science of the Total Environment 164036: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.164036
Young, H., K. Kolivras, L. Krometis, C. Marcillo*, J. Gohlke. 2023. Examining the Association Between Safe Drinking Water Act Violations and Adverse Birth Outcomes in Virginia. Environmental Research. 218: 114977 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envres.2022.114977
Smith*, E., L. Krometis, J. Czuba, K. Kolivras. 2023. Land cover and community water system characteristics as predictors of Safe Drinking Water Act violations in Central Appalachia, USA. Science of the Total Environment 1;858(Pt 2):159726 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.159726
Cohen, A., M. Rasheduzzaman, A. Darling, L. Krometis, M. Edwards, T. Brown, T. Ahmed, E. Wettstone, S. Pholwat, M. Taniuchi, E. Rogawski-McQuade. 2022. Bottled & well water quality in Central Appalachia: Household-level analysis of enteric pathogens, inorganic chemicals, & health outcomes in a rural community in Southwest Virginia. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 19(14), 8610; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19148610
Ruktanonchai, C., M. McKnight, L. Buttling, K. Kolivras, L. Krometis, J. Gohlke. 2022. Exploring airshed and watershed exposure pathways as mediators of the association between proximity to surface mining and adverse birth outcomes in Central Appalachia. Environmental Epidemiology 6(3): e208 doi: 10.1097/EE9.0000000000000208
Marcillo*, C., L. Krometis, J. Krometis. 2021 Approximating community water service areas to explore the demographics of SDWA compliance in Virginia. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 18: 13254 doi: 10.3390/ijerph182413254 (part of special IJERPH issue: "From Environmental Health Inequalities to Environmental Health Justice").
Wind*, L., I. Keenum, S. Gupta, P. Ray, K. Knowlton, M. Ponder, W. C. Hession, A. Pruden, L. Krometis. 2021. Integrated Metagenomic Assessment of Multiple Pre-harvest Control Points on Lettuce Resistomes at Field-Scale. Frontiers in Microbiology 18: 683410. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2021.683410
Govenor*, H., C. Hession, T. Keys, N. Jones, R. Stewart, L. Krometis. 2021. Evaluating rare earth elements as tracers of fluvial processes: Fine sediment transport and and deposition in a small stream. Transactions of the ASABE. 64(3): 905-918. doi: 10.13031/trans.14358
DeVilbiss, S., M. Steele, L. Krometis, B. Badgley. 2021. Freshwater salinization increases survival of Escherichia coli and risk of bacterial impairment. Water Research. 191: 116812. doi: 10.1016/j.watres.2021.116812
Wind*, L., L. Krometis, C. Hession, A. Pruden. 2021. Cross-comparison of methods for quantifying antibiotic resistance in agricultural soils amended with dairy manure and compost. Science of the Total Environment . 766: 144321. DOI:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.144321
Maxcy-Brown, J., M. A. Elliott, L. Krometis, K. D. White, J. Brown, U. Lall. 2021. Right in Our Backyard: Untreated Wastewater Discharges from Rural Homes in the United States. Water Research. 190: 116647. DOI: 10.1016/j.watres.2020.116647
Angermeier, P., L. Krometis, M. Stern, T. Hemby. 2021. Exploring relationships among stream health, human well-being, and demographics in Virginia. Ecological Indicators 121: 107194. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolind.2020.107194
Patton*, H., L. Krometis, E. Sarver. 2020. Springing for safe water: Drinking water quality and source selection in Central Appalachian communities Water. 12(3), 888; https://doi.org/10.3390/w12030888
Marcillo*, C., G. Garcia Prado, N. N. Copeland, L. Krometis. 2020. Drinking water quality and consumer perceptions of contamination at the point-of-use in San Rafael Las Flores, Guatemala. Water Practice and Technology 15 (2): 374–385 https://doi.org/10.2166/wpt.2020.025
Marcillo*, C. and L. Krometis. Small Towns, Big Challenges: Does Rurality Influence Safe Drinking Water Act Compliance? 2019. AWWA Water Science 1(1): e1120. https://doi.org/10.1002/aws2.1120
Krometis, L., H. Patton*, A. Wozniak*, E. Sarver. 2019. Water scavenging from roadside springs in Appalachia. Journal of Contemporary Water Research and Education. 166(1): 46-56. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1936-704X.2019.03301.x
Jacobs*, K., L. Wind*, L. Krometis, C. Hession, A. Pruden. 2019. Fecal Indicator Bacteria and Antibiotic Resistance Genes in Storm Runoff from Dairy Manure and Compost-Amended Vegetable Plots. Journal of Environmental Quality. 48:1038–1046. doi:10.2134/jeq2018.12.0441
Fogler, K., G. Guron, L. Wind*, I. Keenum, W. C. Hession, L. Krometis, L. Strawn, M. Ponder, A. Pruden. 2019. Microbiota and Antibiotic Resistome of Lettuce Leaves and Radishes Grown in Soils Receiving Manure-Based Amendments Derived from Antibiotic-Treated Cows. Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems. 3(22): 1-17 https://doi.org/10.3389/fsufs.2019.00022
Govenor*, H., L. Krometis, C. Hession, L. Willis, P. Angermeier. 2019. Macroinvertebrate Sensitivity Thresholds for Sediment in Virginia Streams. Integrated Environmental Assessment and Management. 15(1): 77-92. doi: 10.1002/ieam.4086
Sherry, J., L. Juran, K. Kolivras, L. Krometis, E. Ling 2018. Perceptions of existing water services and proposed innovations to improve water services in rural and urban Tanzania. Public Works Management and Policy doi.org/10.1177/1087724X18815486
Wind*, L., L. Krometis, C. Hession, C. Chen, P. Du, K. Jacobs, K. Xia, A. Pruden. 2018. Fate of Pirlimycin and Antibiotic-Resistant Fecal Coliforms in Field Plots Amended with Dairy Manure or Compost during Vegetable Cultivation. Journal of Environmental Quality 47(3): 436-444. doi: 10.2134/jeq2017.12.0491
Waller, L., G. Evanylo, L. Krometis, M. Strickland, T. Wynn-Thompson, B. Badgley. 2018. Engineered and Environmental Controls of Microbial Denitrification in Established Bioretention Cells. Environmental Science and Technology 52: 5358-5366. doi: 10.1021/acs.est.7b06704
Liao*, H., E. Sarver, L. Krometis. 2018. Interactive effects of water quality, physical habitat, and watershed anthropogenic activities on stream ecosystem health. Water Research 130: 69-78. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.watres.2017.11.065
Billian*, H., L. Krometis, C. Hagedorn, T Thompson. 2018. Movement of traditional fecal indicator bacteria and source-tracking targets through septic drainfields. Science of the Total Environment (610/611): 1467-1475. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2017.08.131
Garner, E., R. Benitez, E. von Wagoner; R. Sawyer, E. Schaberg, W. C. Hession, L. Krometis, B. Badgley, A. Pruden. 2017. Stormwater loadings of antibiotic resistance genes in an urban stream. Water Research 123: 144-152. doi: 10.1016/j.watres.2017.06.046.
Govenor*, H., L. Krometis, W. C. Hession. 2017. Invertebrate-Based Water Quality Impairments and Associated Stressors Identified through the US Clean Water Act. Environmental Management 60(4): 598-614. doi: 10.1007/s00267-017-0907-3.
Krometis, L., J. Gohlke, K. Kolivras, E. Satterwhite, S. Marmagas, L. Marr. 2017. Environmental Health Disparities in the Central Appalachian Region of the United States. Reviews on Environmental Health 32(3): 253-266. doi: 10.1515/reveh-2017-0012.
Cantor*, J., L. Krometis, E. Sarver, N. Cook, B. Badgley. 2017. Tracking the Downstream Impacts of Inadequate Sanitation in Central Appalachia. Journal of Water and Health 15(4): 580-590. doi: 10.2166/wh.2017.005
Willard*, L., T. Thompson, L. Krometis, T. Neher, B. Badgley. 2017. Does it pay to be mature? Assessing the performance of a bioretention cell seven years post-construction. Journal of Environmental Engineering 143(9): 04017041 https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)EE.1943-7870.0001232 (ASCE Wesley W. Horner Paper Award Winner)
Chirwa, C. F. C., Ralph P. Hall, Leigh-Anne H. Krometis, Eric Vance, Adam Edwards, Ting Guan, Rochelle H. Holm. 2017. Pit latrine fecal sludge resistance using a dynamic cone penetrometer in low income areas in Mzuzu city, Malawi. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 14(87): doi:10.3390/ijerph14020087.
Smyntek, P, L. Krometis, R. Wagner, S. Carvajal, T. Thompson, and W. Strosnider. 2017. Passive biological treatment of mine discharges to reduce conductivity: Potential designs, challenges, and research needs. Journal of Environmental Quality 46: 1-9. doi: 10.2134/jeq2016.06.0216
Pieper*, K., L. Krometis, D. Gallagher, B. Benham. 2016. Simultaneous influence of geology and system design on drinking water quality in private systems. Journal of Environmental Health 79(2): e1-e9. ISSN: 0022-0892
Pieper*, K., L. Krometis, M. Edwards. 2016. Quantifying lead leaching potential from plumbing exposed to aggressive waters. Journal of the American Water Works Association 108(9): http://dx.doi.org/10.5942/jawwa.2016.108.0125
Liao*, H., L. Krometis, K. Kline. 2016. Coupling a continuous watershed-scale microbial fate and transport model with a stochastic dose-response model to estimate risk of illness in an urban watershed. Science of the Total Environment (551/552): 668-675. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2016.02.044
Benham, B., E. Ling, P. Zeigler, and L. Krometis. 2016. What’s in Your Water?: Critical Evolution of the Virginia Household Water Quality Program and Virginia Master Well Owner Network. Journal of Human Sciences and Extension 4(1): 123-138. https://www.jhseonline.com/article/view/627
Pieper*, K., L. Krometis, D. Gallagher, B. Benham, M. Edwards. 2015. Profiling private water systems to identify patterns of waterborne lead exposure. Environmental Science and Technology 49(21): 12697-12704. doi: 10.1021/acs.est.5b03174
Cook*, N., E. Sarver, L. Krometis, J. Huang. 2015. Habitat and Water Quality as Drivers of Ecological System Health in Central Appalachia. Ecological Engineering 84: 180-189. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecoleng.2015.09.006
Liao*, H., L. Krometis, K. Kline, C. Hession. 2015. Long-term impacts of sediment-bacteria interactions in watershed-scale microbial fate and transport modeling. Journal of Environmental Quality 44(5): 1483-1490. doi: 10.2134/jeq2015.03.0169
Pieper*, K., L. Krometis, D. Gallagher, B. Benham, M. Edwards. 2015. Incidence of waterborne lead in private drinking water systems in Virginia. Journal of Water and Health 13(3): 897-908. doi: 10.2166/wh.2015.275.
Liao*, H., L Krometis, C. Hession, R. Benitez, R. Sawyer, E. Schaeberg, E. von Wagoner, B. Badgley. 2015. Storm loadings of general and human-specific fecal indicators in an inland urban stream. Science of the Total Environment (530/531): 347-356. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2015.05.098
Cook*, N., L. Krometis, E. Sarver, J. Huang. 2015. Inorganic Constituents of conductivity in five Central Appalachian watersheds with mixed source-driven pollutants. Ecological Engineering 82: 175-183. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecoleng.2015.04.090
Collins, E., J. A. Ogejo, L. H. Krometis. 2015. The effects of temperature and duration of pasteurization on pathogen inactivation in anaerobically digested separated liquid dairy manure. Journal of Environmental Science and Health, Part A 50: 971-979. DOI: 10.13031/aim.20131620727
Cook*, N., E. Sarver, L. H. Krometis. 2015. Putting corporate social responsibility to work in mining communities. Resources 4:185-202. DOI: 10.3390/resources4020185
Smith*, T., L. H. Krometis, C. Hagedorn, B. Benham, A. H. Lawrence, E. Ling, P. Ziegler, S. W. Marmagas. 2014. Associations between fecal indicator bacteria prevalence and demographic data in private water supplies in Virginia. Journal of Water and Health 12(4): 824-834. doi: 10.2166/wh.2014.026
Liao*, H., L. Krometis, C. Hession, L. House, K. Kline, B. Badgley. 2014. Hydrometeorological and physicochemical drivers of fecal indicator bacteria in an urban stream bottom sediments. Journal of Environmental Quality 43: 2034-2043. doi: 10.2134/jeq2014.06.0255
Hathaway, J. M., L. H. Krometis, W. F. Hunt 2014. Exploring Seasonality in E. coli/Fecal Coliform Ratios in Urban Watersheds. Journal of Irrigation and Drainage Engineering 140(4): 04014003. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)IR.1943-4774.0000700
Fahrenfeld, N., K. Knowlton, L. Krometis, W. C. Hession, K. Xia, E. Lipscomb*, K. Libuit*, B. Green*, A. Pruden. 2014. Manure application’s effect on levels of antibiotic resistance genes and their attenuation rates in soil: Field-scale mass balance approach. Environmental Science and Technology 48(5): 2643–2650. doi: 10.1021/es404988k
Coffey, R., B. Benham, L. Krometis, M. L. Wolfe, E. Cummins. 2014. Assessing the effects of climate change on waterborne microorganisms: implications for EU and USA water policy. Journal of Human and Ecological Risk Assessment 20: 724-742. DOI: 10.1080/10807039.2013.802583
Krometis, L. H., R. T. Noble, G. W. Characklis, A. D. Blackwood, M. D. Sobsey 2013. Assessment of E. coli partitioning behavior via a culture-based method and qPCR. Water Science and Technology 68(6): 1359–1369. doi: 10.2166/wst.2013.363
Allevi*, R. P., L. K. Krometis, C. Hagedorn, B. Benham, A. Lawrence, E. Ling, P. Ziegler. 2013. Quantitative analysis of microbial contamination in private drinking water supply systems. Journal of Water and Health 11(2): 244-255. doi: 10.2166/wh.2013.152
Davidson, C., L. Krometis, S. Al-Harthi, J. Macdonald-Gibson. 2012. Foodborne exposure to pesticides and methylmercury in the United Arab Emirates. Risk Analysis 32: 381-394. doi: 10.1111/j.1539-6924.2011.01679.x
Krometis, L. H., G. W. Characklis, P. N. Drummey, M. D. Sobsey. 2010. Comparison of indicator organism and Salmonella spp. partitioning behavior in an urban watershed. Journal of Water and Health 8(1): 44-59. doi: 10.2166/wh.2009.032
Krometis, L. H., G. W. Characklis, M. D. Sobsey. 2009. Identification of particle size classes inhibiting protozoan recovery from surface water samples via USEPA Method 1623. Applied and Environmental Microbiology 75(20): 6619-6621. doi: 10.1128/AEM.01136-09
Krometis, L. H., P. N. Drummey, G. W. Characklis, M. D. Sobsey. 2009. Impacts of microbial partitioning on wet detention pond effectiveness. Journal of Environmental Engineering 135(9): 758-767. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)EE.1943-7870.0000040
Krometis, L.H., T. A. Dillaha, N. G. Love, S. Mostaghimi. 2009. Evaluation of a filtration/dispersion method for enumeration of particle-associated E. coli. Journal of Environmental Quality 38(3): 980-986. doi: 10.2134/jeq2007.0037
Cizek, A. R., G. W. Characklis, L. H. Krometis, J. A. Hayes, O. D. Simmons III, S. DiLonardo, K. A. Alderisiio, and M. D. Sobsey. 2008. Comparing the partitioning behavior of Giardia and Cryptosporidium with that of indicator organisms in stormwater runoff. Water Research 42(17): 4421-4438. doi: 10.1016/j.watres.2008.06.020
Krometis, L. H., G. W. Characklis, M. J. Dilts, O. D. Simmons, III, C. A. Likirduplos, M. D. Sobsey. 2007. Intra-storm variability in microbial partitioning and microbial loading rates. Water Research 41(2): 506-516. DOI: 10.1016/j.watres.2006.09.029
Characklis, G. W., M. J. Dilts, O. D. Simmons, III, Christina A. Likirduplos, L. H. Krometis, M. D. Sobsey. 2005. Microbial partitioning to settleable solids in stormwater. Water Research 39(9): 1773-1782. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.watres.2005.03.004
Wynn, T., S. Mostaghimi, J. Burger, A. Harpold, M. Henderson, and L.-A. Henry [Krometis]. 2004. Variation in root density along stream banks. Journal of Environmental Quality 33(6): 2030-2039. DOI:10.2134/jeq2004.2030