New groundbreaking research involving the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa is aimed at evaluating potential human health risks from bacteria in surface water systems in four states. Courtesy of the University of Hawaiʻi The 3-year study, which recently received a $2.4 million grant from the Environmental Protection Agency, will assess the environmental spread of antimicrobial-resistant pathogens — disease-causing microorganisms that evolved to withstand the effects of antibiotics and other medicines designed to kill them — through wastewater discharge and agricultural runoff. UH-Mānoa researchers will focus on Kauaʻi’s Hanalei River, where they will examine how cesspools and animal agriculture contribute to the spread of antimicrobial resistance. … Waterways in Nebraska, New Jersey and California join the Hawaiʻi river system were selected for the study to represent diverse environmental conditions and pollution sources.