Microbial Indicators, Opportunistic Bacteria, and Pathogenic Protozoa for Monitoring Urban Wastewater Reused for Irrigation in the Proximity of a Megacity.
In Latin America and the Caribbean, with a population of approximately 580 million inhabitants, less than 20 % of wastewater is treated. Megacities in this region face common challenges and problems related with water quality and sanitation, which require urgent actions, such as changes in the sustainable use of water resources. The Mexico City Metropolitan Area is one of the most populous urban agglomerations in the world, with over 20 million inhabitants, and is no exception to the challenges of sustainable water management. For more than 100 years, wastewater from Mexico City has been transported north to the Mezquital Valley, which is ranked as the largest wastewater-irrigated area in the world. In this study, bacteria and pathogenic protozoa were analyzed to determine the association between the presence of such microorganisms and water types (WTs) across sampling sites and seasons in Mexico City and the Mezquital Valley. Our results show a difference in microbiological water quality between sampling sites and WTs. There is no significant interaction between sampling sites and seasons in terms of bacterial concentration, demonstrating that water quality remains constant at each site regardless of whether it is the dry or the rainy season. The results illustrate the quantity of these microorganisms in wastewater, provide a current diagnosis of water quality across the area which could affect the health of residents in both Mexico City and the Mezquital Valley, and demonstrate the need to transition in the short term to treat wastewater from a local to a regional scale.
Posgrado en Ciencias Biológicas, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico City, Mexico.|Laboratorio Nacional de Ciencias de la Sostenibilidad, Instituto de Ecología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Apartado Postal 70-275, Tercer Circuito Exterior Ciudad Universitaria, Coyoacán, 04510, Mexico City, DF, Mexico.
María Alejandra
MA
Fonseca-Salazar
Instituto de Investigaciones en Matemáticas Aplicadas y en Sistemas, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico City, Mexico.
Carlos
C
Díaz-Ávalos
Laboratorio Nacional de Ciencias de la Sostenibilidad, Instituto de Ecología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Apartado Postal 70-275, Tercer Circuito Exterior Ciudad Universitaria, Coyoacán, 04510, Mexico City, DF, Mexico.|Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico City, Mexico.
María Teresa
MT
Castañón-Martínez
Posgrado en Ciencias Biológicas, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico City, Mexico.|Laboratorio Nacional de Ciencias de la Sostenibilidad, Instituto de Ecología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Apartado Postal 70-275, Tercer Circuito Exterior Ciudad Universitaria, Coyoacán, 04510, Mexico City, DF, Mexico.
Marco Antonio
MA
Tapia-Palacios
Laboratorio Nacional de Ciencias de la Sostenibilidad, Instituto de Ecología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Apartado Postal 70-275, Tercer Circuito Exterior Ciudad Universitaria, Coyoacán, 04510, Mexico City, DF, Mexico. mazari@unam.mx.
Marisa
M
Mazari-Hiriart
D001419:Bacteria; D002947:Cities; D004777:Environment; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D006801:Humans; D008800:Mexico; D062065:Wastewater; D014871:Water Microbiology
D062065:Wastewater
megacity; pathogens; planning; public health; sustainability; wastewater reuse
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