He studies how water quality in pipes and plumbing is affected by factors such as the COVID-19 pandemic, natural disasters, regulations, and how water systems are designed and used.
His expertise includes:
- He and other researchers across the U.S. have drafted recommendations on how to safely recommission buildings with low or no occupancy during the pandemic.
- His team is advising health departments, K-12 schools, universities, office building owners and plumbing component manufacturers on a pandemic response.
- Whelton’s lab is separately conducting a field study on the impact of a pandemic shutdown on building water quality. The results of the study will fill in knowledge gaps on how to best maintain stable water quality during widespread, long-term building shutdowns.
