Protecting a Priceless Treasure – Asli Aslan Leads New Institute for Water and Health
“As an environmental health scientist, trust me, I have seen the worst in my life,” said Asli Aslan, Ph.D., associate professor in the Jiann-Ping Hsu College of Public Health and director of the new Institute for Water and Health at Georgia Southern.
A water microbiologist with an international reputation, Aslan has spent her career testing water sources around the world for possible contamination.
On a chilly April morning, Aslan and Luke Roberson, a public health doctoral student, waded into the frigid waters of the Ogeechee River at Kings Ferry beach in Savannah, Georgia. Armed with a multiprobe, a device that can measure temperature, conductivity, pH and dissolved oxygen in the water, Roberson tested samples while Aslan, carrying a notebook just above the water, recorded the results.
A popular spot for campers, boaters, skiers and swimmers, Kings Ferry beach had been closed in 2015 for years due to high levels of bacteria in the water from an unknown source. Looking to find a solution, the Georgia Department of Natural Resources (DNR) reached out to Aslan for help.
Using new molecular testing technologies, Aslan and her team took samples around the contaminated site for a year before they found the culprit — a toilet near the park leaking sewage onto the beach.
“DNR investigated the area, fixed the leak, and the next month there was no pollutant,” said Aslan. “Problem solved. Check.”
“I love this part of my job a lot,” she added.
Click here to read the rest of the article in Georgia Southern Magazine
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