Modelling the seasonal impacts of a wastewater treatment plant on water quality in a Mediterranean stream using microbial indicators

Journal of Environmental Management
Míriam Pascual-BenitoFrancisco Lucena

Abstract

Faecal pollution modelling is a valuable tool to evaluate and improve water management strategies, especially in a context of water scarcity. The reduction dynamics of five faecal indicator organisms (E. coli, spores of sulphite-reducing clostridia, somatic coliphages, GA17 bacteriophages and a human-specific Bifidobacterium molecular marker) were assessed in an intermittent Mediterranean stream affected by a wastewater treatment plant (WWTP). Using Bayesian inverse modelling, the decay rates of each indicator were correlated with two environmental drivers (temperature and streamflow downstream of the WWTP) and the generated model was used to evaluate the self-depuration distance (SDD) of the stream. A consistent increase of 1-2 log10 in the concentration of all indicators was detected after the discharge of the WWTP effluent. The decay rates showed seasonal variation, reaching a maximum in the dry season, when SDDs were also shorter and the stream had a higher capacity to self-depurate. High seasonality was observed for all faecal indicators except for the spores of sulphite-reducing clostridia. The maximum SDD ranged from 3 km for the spores of sulphite-reducing clostridia during the dry season and 15 km for the human-specifi...Continue Reading

References

May 1, 1995·Applied and Environmental Microbiology·C M DaviesN J Ashbolt
Jul 31, 1999·Applied and Environmental Microbiology·L W SintonP A Lynch
Mar 2, 2002·Applied and Environmental Microbiology·Lester W SintonRobert J Davies-Colley
Sep 17, 2004·Journal of Toxicology and Environmental Health. Part a·Heather AuldJ Klaassen
May 10, 2005·The Science of the Total Environment·Gora C MerseburgerFrancesc Sabater
Feb 19, 2010·The Journal of Animal Ecology·Oliver S BeveridgeOwen L Petchey
Sep 21, 2010·Applied and Environmental Microbiology·Elisenda Ballesté, Anicet R Blanch
Jan 1, 2008·Microbes and Environments·Satoshi Ishii, Michael J Sadowsky
Jun 12, 2012·Applied and Environmental Microbiology·Marta Gómez-DoñateAnicet R Blanch
Oct 16, 2012·Water Research·S AstalsJ Mata-Alvarez
Dec 19, 2012·Environmental Science and Pollution Research International·M Agulló-BarcelóF Lucena
Mar 4, 2014·Water Research·Joan JofreMaite Muniesa
Jun 5, 2015·Journal of Water and Health·Gaurav SaxenaAbhay Raj
Mar 30, 2016·Environmental Science : Water Research & Technology·Theresa A DankovichJames A Smith
Nov 2, 2016·Environmental Science & Technology·Jianyong WuJill R Stewart
Jun 27, 2018·Journal of Environmental Sciences (China)·Antonino FiorentinoMaurizio Carotenuto

❮ Previous
Next ❯

Citations

Feb 19, 2021·Water Science and Technology : a Journal of the International Association on Water Pollution Research·Lisa Paruch, Adam M Paruch

❮ Previous
Next ❯

Related Concepts

Related Feeds

Autoimmune Diseases

Autoimmune diseases occur as a result of an attack by the immune system on the body’s own tissues resulting in damage and dysfunction. There are different types of autoimmune diseases, in which there is a complex and unknown interaction between genetics and the environment. Discover the latest research on autoimmune diseases here.