title: Effects of Climate and Sewer Condition on Virus Transport to Groundwater.
abstract: Pathogen contamination from leaky sanitary sewers poses a threat to groundwater quality in urban areas, yet the spatial and temporal dimensions of this contamination are not well understood. In this study, 16 monitoring wells and six municipal wells were repeatedly sampled for human enteric viruses. Viruses were detected infrequently, in 17 of 455 samples, compared to previous sampling at these wells. Thirteen of the 22 wells sampled were virus-positive at least once. While the highest virus concentrations occurred in shallower wells, shallow and deep wells were virus-positive at similar rates. Virus presence in groundwater was temporally coincident, with 16 of 17 virus-positive samples collected in a six-month period. Detections were associated with precipitation and occurred infrequently during a prolonged drought. The study purposely included sites with sewers of differing age and material. The rates of virus detections in groundwater were similar at all study sites during this study. However, a relationship between sewer age and virus detections emerged when compared to data from an earlier study, conducted during high precipitation conditions. Taken together, these data indicate that sewer condition and climate affect urban groundwater contamination by human enteric viruses.
authors.affiliation: Wisconsin Geological and Natural History Survey, University of Wisconsin-Extension , 3817 Mineral Point Road, Madison, Wisconsin 53705, United States.
authors.forename: Madeline B
authors.initials: MB
authors.lastname: Gotkowitz
authors.affiliation: Wisconsin Geological and Natural History Survey, University of Wisconsin-Extension , 3817 Mineral Point Road, Madison, Wisconsin 53705, United States.
authors.forename: Kenneth R
authors.initials: KR
authors.lastname: Bradbury
authors.affiliation: USDA-Agricultural Research Service, 2615 Yellowstone Drive, Marshfield, Wisconsin 54449, United States.
authors.forename: Mark A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Borchardt
authors.affiliation: Department of Statistics and Department of Entomology, University of Wisconsin-Madison , 1300 University Avenue, Madison, Wisconsin 53706, United States.
authors.forename: Jun
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zhu
authors.affiliation: USDA-Agricultural Research Service, 2615 Yellowstone Drive, Marshfield, Wisconsin 54449, United States.
authors.forename: Susan K
authors.initials: SK
authors.lastname: Spencer
mesh_terms: D002980:Climate; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D060587:Groundwater / Q000821:virology*; D006801:Humans; D014780:Viruses / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D014873:Water Pollutants / Q000032:analysis; D060986:Water Wells
chemical_list: D014873:Water Pollutants