Survival of Salmonella enterica in Aerated and Nonaerated Wastewaters from Dairy Lagoons

Salmonella is the most commonly identified foodborne pathogen in produce, meat and poultry. Cattle are known reservoirs of Salmonella and the pathogen excreted in feces ends up in manure flush lagoons. Salmonella enterica survival was monitored in wastewater from on-site holding lagoons equipped or not with circulating aerators at two dairies. All strains had poor survival rates and none proliferated in waters from aerated or settling lagoons. Populations of all three Salmonella serovars declined rapidly with decimal reduction times (D) of <2 days in aerated microcosms prepared from lagoon equipped with circulators. Populations of Salmonella decreased significantly in aerated microcosms (D = 4.2 d) compared to nonaerated waters (D = 7.4 d) and in summer (D = 3.4 d) compared to winter (D = 9.0 d). We propose holding the wastewater for sufficient decimal reduction cycles in lagoons to yield pathogen-free nutrient-rich water for crop irrigations and fertilization.