RESUMEN
Elevated concentrations of fecal indicator bacteria in receiving waters during wet-weather flows are a considerable public health concern that is likely to be exacerbated by future climate change and urbanization. Knowledge of factors driving the fate and transport of fecal indicator bacteria in stormwater is limited, and even less is known about molecular fecal indicators, which may eventually supplant traditional culturable indicators. In this study, concentrations and loading rates of both culturable and molecular fecal indicators were quantified throughout six storm events in an instrumented inland urban stream. While both concentrations and loading rates of each fecal indicator increased rapidly during the rising limb of the storm hydrographs, it is the loading rates rather than instantaneous concentrations that provide a better estimate of transport through the stream during the entire storm. Concentrations of general fecal indicators (both culturable and molecular) correlated most highly with each other during storm events but not with the human-associated HF183 Bacteroides marker. Event loads of general fecal indicators most strongly correlated with total runoff volume, maximum discharge, and maximum turbidity, while event loads of HF183 most strongly correlated with the time to peak flow in a hydrograph. These observations suggest that collection of multiple samples during a storm event is critical for accurate predictions of fecal indicator loading rates and total loads during wet-weather flows, which are required for effective watershed management. In addition, existing predictive models based on general fecal indicators may not be sufficient to predict source-specific genetic markers of fecal contamination.
Asunto(s)
Monitoreo del Ambiente , Ríos/microbiología , Microbiología del Agua , Contaminantes del Agua/análisis , Bacterias , LluviaRESUMEN
Conservative tracer experiments, and spatial temperature and dissolved oxygen mapping within four subsurface treatment wetlands employed in this study demonstrated the importance of supplemental aeration and vegetation in reducing preferential flows in cold climate treatment wetlands. Four constructed wetlands, employing horizontal subsurface flow were used to treat dairy wastewater in a 2 x 2 factorial design consisting of two wetland cells with vegetation and two with supplemental aeration. Four tracer studies were conducted between November 2004 and May 2005. Two key observations were made, demonstrating that vegetation and aeration can be utilized in cold regions to prevent clogging and freezing, thereby reducing preferential flow paths which can reduce treatment efficiencies: (1) vegetation contributed to thermal protection and (2) aeration increased temperature and mixing. A comparison of multiple wetland cells with varying flow rates showed that the use of pore volume in tracer response curves was a better indicator of preferential flows than other indicators including volumetric efficiency, hydraulic efficiency and number of continuosly stirred tank reactors (CSTRs). This research helps further establish how constructed wetlands are a viable tool for treating wastewater in cold climates.