4.8 Article

Decay of Bacteroidales Genetic Markers in Relation to Traditional Fecal Indicators for Water Quality Modeling of Drinking Water Sources

Journal

ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
Volume 46, Issue 2, Pages 892-900

Publisher

AMER CHEMICAL SOC
DOI: 10.1021/es2024498

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Funding

  1. Swedish Water and Wastewater Association (SWWA)
  2. Graduate School on Environment and Health at Chalmers University of Technology
  3. University of Gothenburg, Sweden

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The implementation of microbial fecal source tracking (MST) methods in drinking water management is limited by the lack of knowledge on the transport and decay of host-specific genetic markers in water sources. To address these limitations, the decay and transport of human (BacH) and ruminant (BacR) fecal Bacteroidales 16S rRNA genetic markers in a drinking water source (Lake Radasjon in Sweden) were simulated using a microbiological model coupled to a three-dimensional hydrodynamic model. The microbiological model was calibrated using data from outdoor microcosm trials performed in March, August, and November 2010 to determine the decay of BacH and BacR markers in relation to traditional fecal indicators. The microcosm trials indicated that the persistence of BacH and BacR in the microcosms was not significantly different from the persistence of traditional fecal indicators. The modeling of BacH and BacR transport within the lake illustrated that the highest levels of genetic markers at the raw water intakes were associated with human fecal sources (on-site sewers and emergency sewer overflow). This novel modeling approach improves the interpretation of MST data, especially, when fecal pollution from the same host group is released into the water source from different sites in the catchment.

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