Erin Barrera

I completed my undergraduate degree with first class honors from the University of Adelaide in 2023. I am currently undertaking a PhD in public health and environmental science, in an industry based candidature in conjunction with SA Health.

My research investigates the growth of cyanobacteria (blue-green algae) in recycled water. Recycled water is a climate independent and sustainable source of water, particularly important to drought-prone communities such as Australia. Water can be recycled from municipal use (household drains, sewage) or storm water, processed to reduce pathogen levels, and then can be used for applications such as agricultural or greenspace irrigation, industrial cooling, toilet flushing, or watering of home gardens.

As the frequency and intensity of drought events increase due to climate change, harmful algae events increase also. If there is a toxin-producing algae growing in the recycled water, this poses a risk to human health, and we can no longer use recycled water for the aforementioned applications - they either have to go without water, or we use clean drinking water instead. The ultimate risk to health, and the concentration of algae that the public is being exposed to, is unclear; this is what my research is aiming to address.