Real-time monitoring of beta-d-glucuronidase activity in sediment laden streams: A comparison of prototypes.
Detection of enzymatic activities has been proposed as a rapid surrogate for the culture-based microbiological pollution monitoring of water resources. This paper presents the results of tests on four fully automated prototype instruments for the on-site monitoring of beta-d-glucuronidase (GLUC) activity. The tests were performed on sediment-laden stream water in the Hydrological Open Air Laboratory (HOAL) during the period of March 2014 to March 2015. The dominant source of faecal pollution in the stream was swine manure applied to the fields within the catchment. The experiments indicated that instrument pairs with the same construction design yielded highly consistent results (R(2) = 0.96 and R(2) = 0.94), whereas the results between different designs were less consistent (R(2) = 0.71). Correlations between the GLUC activity measured on-site and culture-based Escherichia coli analyses over the entire study period yielded R(2) = 0.52 and R(2) = 0.47 for the two designs, respectively. The correlations tended to be higher at the event scale. The GLUC activity was less correlated with suspended sediment concentrations than with E. coli, which is interpreted in terms of indicator applicability and the time since manure application. The study shows that this rapid assay can yield consistent results over a long period of on-site operation in technically challenging habitats. Although the use of GLUC activity as a proxy for culture-based assays could not be proven for the observed habitat, the study results suggest that this biochemical indicator has high potential for implementation in early warning systems.
TU Wien, Centre for Water Resource Systems, Karlsplatz 13, A-1040 Vienna, Austria; TU Wien, Institute for Water Quality, Resources and Waste Management, Karlsplatz 13, A-1040 Vienna, Austria. Electronic address: stadler@waterresources.at.
Philipp
P
Stadler
TU Wien, Centre for Water Resource Systems, Karlsplatz 13, A-1040 Vienna, Austria; TU Wien, Institute of Hydraulic Engineering and Water Resources Management, Karlsplatz 13/222, A-1040 Vienna, Austria.
Günter
G
Blöschl
Vienna Water Monitoring, Dorfstrasse 17, A-2295 Zwerndorf, Austria.
Wolfgang
W
Vogl
Vienna Water Monitoring, Dorfstrasse 17, A-2295 Zwerndorf, Austria.
Juri
J
Koschelnik
Vienna Water Monitoring, Dorfstrasse 17, A-2295 Zwerndorf, Austria.
Markus
M
Epp
Vienna Water Monitoring, Dorfstrasse 17, A-2295 Zwerndorf, Austria.
Maximilian
M
Lackner
TU Wien, Centre for Water Resource Systems, Karlsplatz 13, A-1040 Vienna, Austria.
Markus
M
Oismüller
Federal Agency for Water Management, Institute for Land & Water Management Research, 3252 Petzenkirchen, Austria.
Monika
M
Kumpan
TU Wien, Institute for Water Quality, Resources and Waste Management, Karlsplatz 13, A-1040 Vienna, Austria.
Lukas
L
Nemeth
Federal Agency for Water Management, Institute for Land & Water Management Research, 3252 Petzenkirchen, Austria.
Peter
P
Strauss
Interuniversity Cooperation Centre for Water and Health, Gumpendorferstraße 1a, A-1060 Vienna, Austria; Medical University of Vienna, Institute for Hygiene and Applied Immunology, Water Hygiene, Kinderspitalgasse 15, A-1090 Vienna, Austria.
Regina
R
Sommer
TU Wien, Institute of Chemical Engineering, Research Group Environmental Microbiology and Molecular Ecology, Gumpendorferstraße 1a, A-1060 Vienna, Austria.
Gabriela
G
Ryzinska-Paier
Interuniversity Cooperation Centre for Water and Health, Gumpendorferstraße 1a, A-1060 Vienna, Austria; TU Wien, Institute of Chemical Engineering, Research Group Environmental Microbiology and Molecular Ecology, Gumpendorferstraße 1a, A-1060 Vienna, Austria.
Andreas H
AH
Farnleitner
TU Wien, Centre for Water Resource Systems, Karlsplatz 13, A-1040 Vienna, Austria; TU Wien, Institute for Water Quality, Resources and Waste Management, Karlsplatz 13, A-1040 Vienna, Austria.
Matthias
M
Zessner
D000818:Animals; D004784:Environmental Monitoring / Q000295:instrumentation; D004926:Escherichia coli; D005243:Feces / Q000382:microbiology; D005966:Glucuronidase; D045483:Rivers; D013552:Swine; D014871:Water Microbiology
D005966:Glucuronidase
Enzymatic activity; Escherichia coli; Faecal pollution; Glucuronidase; Online monitoring; Water quality