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Characterization of Stormwater Runoff Based on Microbial Source Tracking Methods

Rainfall and associated urban runoff have been linked to an increased deterioration of environmental waters, carrying several pollutants including pathogenic microorganisms. Such happens because fecal matter is washed into storm drainage pipes that are afterward released into environmental waters. S...

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Autores principales: Monteiro, Silvia, Queiroz, Gaspar, Ferreira, Filipa, Santos, Ricardo
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: Frontiers Media S.A. 2021
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8222924/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/34177858
http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2021.674047
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author Monteiro, Silvia
Queiroz, Gaspar
Ferreira, Filipa
Santos, Ricardo
author_facet Monteiro, Silvia
Queiroz, Gaspar
Ferreira, Filipa
Santos, Ricardo
author_sort Monteiro, Silvia
collection PubMed
description Rainfall and associated urban runoff have been linked to an increased deterioration of environmental waters, carrying several pollutants including pathogenic microorganisms. Such happens because fecal matter is washed into storm drainage pipes that are afterward released into environmental waters. Stormwater has not been extensively characterized as it is, because most studies are performed either on drainage pipes that are often impacted by sewage leakage or directly in environmental waters following a rain event. In this study, stormwater collected directly from the streets, was monitored for the presence of fecal indicator bacteria (FIB) and three potential important sources of fecal contamination in urban environments (human, cats, and dogs) in three distinct basins in Lisbon, Portugal. Stormwater was collected in sterilized plastic boxes inserted in the storm drains, therefore collecting only runoff. High concentration of fecal contamination was detected with a high percentage of the samples displayed at least one source of contamination. A strong relationship was found between the number of detected sources and the precipitation levels. Although no statistical correlation was found between the locations and the presence of FIB or source markers, the results show a trend in geographical information on the type of urban use in each basin. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study analyzing the runoff collected directly from the streets. This study suggests that, in urban areas, stormwater runoff is highly impacted by fecal matter, not only from domestic animals but also from human origin, before any cross-contamination in the drainage system and may, by itself, pose a high risk to human health and the environment, particularly if water reuse of this water without further disinfection treatment is the final goal.
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spelling pubmed-82229242021-06-25 Characterization of Stormwater Runoff Based on Microbial Source Tracking Methods Monteiro, Silvia Queiroz, Gaspar Ferreira, Filipa Santos, Ricardo Front Microbiol Microbiology Rainfall and associated urban runoff have been linked to an increased deterioration of environmental waters, carrying several pollutants including pathogenic microorganisms. Such happens because fecal matter is washed into storm drainage pipes that are afterward released into environmental waters. Stormwater has not been extensively characterized as it is, because most studies are performed either on drainage pipes that are often impacted by sewage leakage or directly in environmental waters following a rain event. In this study, stormwater collected directly from the streets, was monitored for the presence of fecal indicator bacteria (FIB) and three potential important sources of fecal contamination in urban environments (human, cats, and dogs) in three distinct basins in Lisbon, Portugal. Stormwater was collected in sterilized plastic boxes inserted in the storm drains, therefore collecting only runoff. High concentration of fecal contamination was detected with a high percentage of the samples displayed at least one source of contamination. A strong relationship was found between the number of detected sources and the precipitation levels. Although no statistical correlation was found between the locations and the presence of FIB or source markers, the results show a trend in geographical information on the type of urban use in each basin. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study analyzing the runoff collected directly from the streets. This study suggests that, in urban areas, stormwater runoff is highly impacted by fecal matter, not only from domestic animals but also from human origin, before any cross-contamination in the drainage system and may, by itself, pose a high risk to human health and the environment, particularly if water reuse of this water without further disinfection treatment is the final goal. Frontiers Media S.A. 2021-06-10 /pmc/articles/PMC8222924/ /pubmed/34177858 http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2021.674047 Text en Copyright © 2021 Monteiro, Queiroz, Ferreira and Santos. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
spellingShingle Microbiology
Monteiro, Silvia
Queiroz, Gaspar
Ferreira, Filipa
Santos, Ricardo
Characterization of Stormwater Runoff Based on Microbial Source Tracking Methods
title Characterization of Stormwater Runoff Based on Microbial Source Tracking Methods
title_full Characterization of Stormwater Runoff Based on Microbial Source Tracking Methods
title_fullStr Characterization of Stormwater Runoff Based on Microbial Source Tracking Methods
title_full_unstemmed Characterization of Stormwater Runoff Based on Microbial Source Tracking Methods
title_short Characterization of Stormwater Runoff Based on Microbial Source Tracking Methods
title_sort characterization of stormwater runoff based on microbial source tracking methods
topic Microbiology
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8222924/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/34177858
http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2021.674047
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