title: Quantification of pathogenic microorganisms and microbial indicators in three wastewater reclamation and managed aquifer recharge facilities in Europe.
abstract: Managed Aquifer Recharge (MAR) is becoming an attractive option for water storage in water reuse processes as it provides an additional treatment barrier to improve recharged water quality and buffers seasonal variations of water supply and demand. To achieve a better understanding about the level of pathogenic microorganisms and their relation with microbial indicators in these systems, five waterborne pathogens and four microbial indicators were monitored over one year in three European MAR sites operated with reclaimed wastewater. Giardia and Cryptosporidium (oo)cysts were found in 63.2 and 36.7% of the samples respectively. Salmonella spp. and helminth eggs were more rarely detected (16.3% and 12.5% of the samples respectively) and Campylobacter cells were only found in 2% of samples. At the Belgian site advanced tertiary treatment technology prior to soil aquifer treatment (SAT) produced effluent of drinking water quality, with no presence of the analysed pathogens. At the Spanish and Italian sites amelioration of microbiological water quality was observed between the MAR injectant and the recovered water. In particular Giardia levels decreased from 0.24-6.14 cysts/L to 0-0.01 cysts/L and from 0.4-6.2 cysts/L to 0-0.07 cysts/L in the Spanish and Italian sites respectively. Salmonella gene copies and Giardia cysts were however found in the water for final use and/or the recovered groundwater water at the two sites. Significant positive Spearman correlations (p<0.05, r(s) range: 0.45-0.95) were obtained, in all the three sites, between Giardia cysts and the most resistant microbial markers, Clostridium spores and bacteriophages.
authors.affiliation: Water Research Institute, CNR, via Salaria km 29,300 - 00015 Monterotondo, Roma, Italy. levantesi@irsa.cnr.it
authors.forename: Caterina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Levantesi
authors.forename: Rosanna
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: La Mantia
authors.forename: Costantino
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Masciopinto
authors.forename: Uta
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Böckelmann
authors.forename: M Neus
authors.initials: MN
authors.lastname: Ayuso-Gabella
authors.forename: Miquel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Salgot
authors.forename: Valter
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Tandoi
authors.forename: Emmanuel
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Van Houtte
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Wintgens
authors.forename: Elisabeth
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Grohmann
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002167:Campylobacter / Q000302:isolation & purification; D003013:Clostridium / Q000302:isolation & purification; D015169:Colony Count, Microbial; D003458:Cryptosporidium / Q000302:isolation & purification; D016983:Enterococcus / Q000302:isolation & purification; D004784:Environmental Monitoring / Q000379:methods*; D004926:Escherichia coli / Q000302:isolation & purification; D005060:Europe; D005618:Fresh Water / Q000382:microbiology / Q000469:parasitology*; D005872:Giardia / Q000302:isolation & purification; D006376:Helminths / Q000302:isolation & purification; D033661:Oocysts; D010270:Parasite Egg Count; D012475:Salmonella / Q000302:isolation & purification; D014871:Water Microbiology; D014873:Water Pollutants / Q000302:isolation & purification*
chemical_list: D014873:Water Pollutants