title: [Removal of microorganisms by soil filters for bathing ponds].
abstract: "Bathing ponds" are artificial outdoor water pools without disinfection. Whereas in conventional pools, chlorine promptly kills pathogens shed by bathers, such quick inactivation is missing in bathing ponds. We have explored the retention of indicator bacteria and viruses by a vertically operated, reed grown soil filter. After continuously running the filter with wastewater-spiked surface water, we found that the filter retains more than 99 % of the indicator organisms. It has been reported in the literature that the "spontaneous" inactivation of pathogens in water might be very variable depending on sunlight irradiation, water turbidity, etc. On the contrary, the performance of a filter like the one reported here allows filtering the water so as to reliably eliminate 90 % of the spiked microorganisms from the pool water within 24 hours.
authors.affiliation: Umweltbundesamt, Berlin, BRD.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Grunert
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Arndt
authors.forename: Hartmut
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Bartel
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Dizer
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kock
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kubs
authors.forename: Juan Manuel
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: López-Pila
mesh_terms: D001435:Bacteriophages; D001493:Bathing Beaches / Q000592:standards*; D003140:Communicable Disease Control / Q000379:methods*; D016984:Enterococcus faecium / Q000254:growth & development; D004926:Escherichia coli / Q000254:growth & development; D005374:Filtration / Q000379:methods* / Q000592:standards; D005858:Germany; D017408:Guidelines as Topic; D006801:Humans; D012987:Soil; D014780:Viruses / Q000254:growth & development; D014871:Water Microbiology / Q000592:standards*; D018508:Water Purification / Q000379:methods* / Q000592:standards
chemical_list: D012987:Soil