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Bacterial and viral indicators of fecal contamination in drinking water
Author(s) -
Plummer Jeanine D.,
Long Sharon C.,
Charest Abigail J.,
Roop Daniel O.
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
journal ‐ american water works association
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.466
H-Index - 74
eISSN - 1551-8833
pISSN - 0003-150X
DOI - 10.5942/jawwa.2014.106.0023
Subject(s) - fecal coliform , indicator bacteria , feces , contamination , water quality , pollution , indicator organism , wastewater , waterborne diseases , biology , turbidity , coliform bacteria , environmental science , water pollution , veterinary medicine , microbiology and biotechnology , bacteria , environmental engineering , ecology , medicine , genetics
Coliform indicators are used as an index of waterborne disease risk. Coliforms respond differently to environmental stressors and engineered treatment processes than viral pathogens and thus are imperfect indicators. Bacteriophages, which are similar in structure and morphology to human enteric viruses, may be more highly correlated with the presence of viral pathogens. In this research, coliforms, Escherichia coli, male‐specific coliphages, and somatic coliphages were quantified in feces and in wastewater and drinking water samples collected in multiple regions and seasons. Physical and chemical water quality were also measured. Bacterial indicators varied with animal type in feces and varied with treatment stage in wastewater and drinking water. Samples analyzed for coliphages had a high number of nondetects (49% in fecal samples and up to 79% in drinking water samples), but coliphages can be analyzed in addition to bacteria to provide complementary information on fecal contamination in water and public health risk. In some cases, turbidity and organic carbon may provide a rapid indication of pollution that could trigger targeted microbiological monitoring.