Giardia and Cryptosporidium removal from waste-water by a duckweed (Lemna gibba L.) covered pond

Occurrence of Giardia duodenalis in selected stations and tributary rivers of Laguna Lake, Philippines

Fecal pollution is a major contributor to the progressive degradation of Laguna Lake, the Philippines' largest inland lake used for aquaculture, recreation, and as a source of irrigation and domestic water. Consequently, intestinal parasites may be present in this body of water, posing risks to water safety and human health. This study was able to detect the protozoan parasite, Giardia duodenalis, in three Laguna Lake stations and seven tributary rivers in a 13-month monitoring period by PCR amplification of the small subunit ribosomal RNA (SSU rRNA) gene of Giardia cysts concentrated from water samples. The pathogen was present in 37.7% of tributary samples (n = 69) and 16.7% of lake samples (n = 36). Notable frequencies of detection were observed in four tributary rivers -Bagumbayan, Taguig (66.7%); Santa Rosa, Laguna (55.6%); San Cristobal, Cabuyao, Laguna (44.4%); and Biñan, Laguna (42.9%). All test SSU rRNA gene sequences were identified as human-infective genotypes of G. duodenalis predominated by Assemblage A (94.1%). Furthermore, analysis of the glutamate dehydrogenase (gdh) gene revealed the possible presence of mixed genotypes in at least two samples. These results support the pressing need to include protozoan pathogen monitoring in Laguna Lake and its tributaries to prevent Giardia infection in humans and animals. This study also recommends microbial source tracking to identify fecal pollution sources and aid in regulation of waste discharges into the lake and its tributaries.

Removal of Pathogens in Onsite Wastewater Treatment Systems: A Review of Design Considerations and Influencing Factors

Conventional onsite wastewater treatment systems (OWTSs) could potentially contribute to the transmission of infectious diseases caused by waterborne pathogenic microorganisms and become an important human health concern, especially in the areas where OWTSs are used as the major wastewater treatment units. Although previous studies suggested the OWTSs could reduce chemical pollutants as well as effectively reducing microbial contaminants from onsite wastewater, the microbiological quality of effluents and the factors potentially affecting the removal are still understudied. Therefore, the design and optimization of pathogen removal performance necessitate a better mechanistic understanding of the hydrological, geochemical, and biological processes controlling the water quality in OWTSs. To fill the knowledge gaps, the sources of pathogens and common pathogenic indicators, along with their major removal mechanisms in OWTSs were discussed. This review evaluated the effectiveness of pathogen removal in state-of-art OWTSs and investigated the contributing factors for efficient pathogen removal (e.g., system configurations, filter materials, environmental and operational conditions), with the aim to guide the future design for optimized treatment performance.

Effective control of waterborne pathogens by aquatic plants

The role of aquatic plants in treating wastewater contaminated with inorganic and organic pollutants is well established. Recent studies have shown that aquatic plants possess potential to remove pathogens from wastewater. High removal (90%) of pathogenic microbes such as Enterococci, Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumonia, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Clostridium perfringens, Staphylococcus aureus, and Salmonella have been achieved using aquatic plant species viz. Typha latifolia, Cyperus papyrus, Cyperus alternifolius, Phragmites mauritianus, Pistia stratiotes, Lemna paucicostata, Spirodela polyrhiza, Eichhornia crassipes. Pathogen removal by aquatic plants mainly occurs because of toxicity exerted by exudates produced by them or attachment of pathogens to plant roots followed by filtration. Constructed wetlands have proved very efficient in treating pathogen-contaminated water. More studies are required to find out the exact mechanism of pathogen removal by these plants so that their role in phytoremediation technologies can be emphasized.

Constructed wetland for wastewater reuse: Role and efficiency in removing enteric pathogens

Water stress has become a perennial concern in most of the developing countries due to rapid urbanization and population growth. As the growing population requires more fresh water and better ways for wastewater disposal, the demand for wastewater reclamation has increased drastically in recent years. Wastewater, either raw or treated, is being widely used for agricultural irrigation in developing countries, which cause a serious threat to human health mainly because of its pathogenic content. One of the alternative methods to treat wastewater and make it reusable for agricultural irrigation is to implement constructed wetland (CW); a sustainable and cost-effective technology that is applicable for the elimination of both pollutants and pathogens from wastewater. Despite its wide application, the role of macrophytes that form an integral part of CW and specific mechanisms involved in pathogen removal by them is still barely understood due to complexities involved and influencing factors. This has, therefore, attracted various scientific studies to reveal further functional mechanisms involved in vegetated CW to increase its proficiencies. This review paper illustrates the comparative studies of different CW and their pathogen removal efficiencies with major emphasis on macrophytes involved and factors influencing related mechanism. Further, the paper also covers detailed information on the enteric pathogens present in wastewater and the associated health risks involved in its reuse. The ultimate objective is to further clarify the role of CW in enteric pathogen removal and its efficiency for wastewater purification in perspective with safe reuse in agriculture.

Constructed wetlands for greywater recycle and reuse: A review

Concern over dwindling water supplies for urban areas as well as environmental degradation from existing urban water systems has motivated research into more resilient and sustainable water supply strategies. Greywater reuse has been suggested as a way to diversify local water supply portfolios while at the same time lessening the burden on existing environments and infrastructure. Constructed wetlands have been proposed as an economically and energetically efficient unit process to treat greywater for reuse purposes, though their ability to consistently meet applicable water quality standards, microbiological in particular, is questionable. We therefore review the existing case study literature to summarize the treatment performance of greywater wetlands in the context of chemical, physical and microbiological water quality standards. Based on a cross-section of different types of wetlands, including surface flow, subsurface flow, vertical and recirculating vertical flow, across a range of operating conditions, we show that although microbiological standards cannot reliably be met, given either sufficient retention time or active recirculation, chemical and physical standards can. We then review existing case study literature for typical water supply disinfection unit processes including chlorination, ozonation and ultraviolet radiation treating either raw or treated greywater specifically. An evaluation of effluent water quality from published wetland case studies and the expected performance from disinfection processes shows that under appropriate conditions these two unit processes together can likely produce effluent of sufficient quality to meet all nonpotable reuse standards. Specifically, we suggest that recycling vertical flow wetlands combined with ultraviolet radiation disinfection and chlorine residual is the best combination to reliably meet the standards.

Implications of new legislation (US FSMA) and guidelines (EC) on the establishment of management systems for agricultural water

This report summarizes key messages related to agricultural water quality as discussed by an ad hoc panel at the 1st International Symposium of Food Safety in Santiago, Chile. Participating representatives of the academia, industry and government of diverse geographical backgrounds and the audience discussed topics such as (1) implications of the US Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA: www.fda.gov/Food/GuidanceRegulation/FSMA/ucm277706.htm) on the Agricultural Water Quality, (2) comparisons between MPN and CFU in analyzing water quality, (3) alternatives to fecal indicator bacteria (FIB) to be used as indicators to evaluate water quality, and (4) vegetative buffers as an alternative to reduce pathogen loads in agricultural surface waters. Panelists identified the following key messages for each topic discussed that are related to agricultural water quality: (1) the FSMA regulation and the new guidance document elaborated by the EC are highly relevant as they provide a definition of agricultural water and specific criteria for different water uses and circumstances; (2) FSMA supports modification from MPN to CFU; (3) Growers require more alternatives for treatment of agricultural water; (4) Vegetative buffers are a potential practical and feasible alternative for agriculture producers to reduce the pathogen and fecal pollution loads of in their agricultural waters.

Flower induction, microscope-aided cross-pollination, and seed production in the duckweed Lemna gibba with discovery of a male-sterile clone

Duckweed species have a great potential to develop into fast-growing crops for water remediation and bioenergy production. Seed production and utilization of hybrid vigour are essential steps in this process. However, even in the extensively-studied duckweed species, Lemna gibba, flower primordia were often aborted prior to maturation. Salicylic acid (SA) and agar solidification of the medium promoted flower maturation and resulted in high flowering rates in L. gibba 7741 and 5504. Artificial cross-pollination between individuals of L. gibba 7741 yielded seeds at high frequencies unlike that in L. gibba 5504. In contrast to clone 7741, the anthers of 5504 did not dehisce upon maturation, its artificially released pollen grains had pineapple-like exine with tilted spines. These pollens were not stained by 2,5-diphenylmonotetrazoliumbromide (MTT) and failed to germinate. Therefore, clone 5504 is male sterile and has potential application with respect to hybrid vigour. Moreover, pollination of flowers of 5504 with 7741 pollen grains resulted in intraspecific hybrid seeds, which was confirmed by inter-simple sequence repeat (ISSR) markers. These hybrid seeds germinated at a high frequency, forming new clones.

Removal of Cryptosporidium by wastewater treatment processes: a review

Cryptosporidium is a protozoan parasite that infects humans and various animal species. The environmental stability and the low infectious dose of Cryptosporidium facilitate its transmission by water and food. Discharge of untreated wastewater may result in waterborne or foodborne Cryptosporidium outbreaks, therefore a suitable treatment may prevent its dissemination. Most studies on the prevalence of Cryptosporidium oocysts in wastewater have reported a concentration range between 10 and 200 oocysts/L and a prevalence of 6 to 100%. Activated sludge has been found to be ineffective for the removal of Cryptosporidium oocysts. Stabilization ponds and constructed wetlands are efficient for the reduction of Cryptosporidium from wastewater, especially when the retention time is longer than 20 days at suitable sunlight and temperature. High rate filtration and chlorine disinfection are inefficient for the reduction of Cryptosporidium from effluents, whereas ultrafiltration and UV irradiation were found to be very efficient for the reduction of Cryptosporidium oocysts. Adequate tertiary treatment may result in high quality effluent with low risk of Cryptosporidium for unrestricted irrigation and other non-potable applications.

Sanitation in constructed wetlands: A review on the removal of human pathogens and fecal indicators

Removal of human pathogens from wastewater is a critical factor with linkage to human health. Constructed Wetlands (CWs) are environmental friendly ecosystems that are applicable not only for chemical pollution control, but also for the reduction of pathogens from wastewater. Yet the knowledge on the fate and removal of such indicator bacteria in CWs is still not sufficient due to the complexity of removal mechanisms and influencing factors. This review serves to provide a better understanding of this state-of-the-art technology, which is necessary for further investigations and design development. The fecal indicator bacteria in CWs mainly come from three sources, namely, influent wastewaters, regrowth within the CWs, and animal activities. The properties of microbial contamination vary depending on the different sources. The removal of pathogens is a complex process that is influenced by operational parameters such as hydraulic regime and retention time, vegetation, seasonal fluctuation, and water composition. The most frequent and well-validated removal mechanisms include natural die-off due to starvation or predation, sedimentation and filtration, and adsorption. The concentration of the main fecal indicator bacteria in the effluent was found to be exponentially related to the loading rate. Generally, horizontal subsurface flow CWs have better reduction capacity than free water surface flow CWs, and hybrid wetland systems were found to be the most efficient due to a longer retention time. Further improvement of fecal indicator bacteria removal in CWs is needed, however, levels in CW effluents are still higher than most of the regulation standards for reuse.

Assessment of parasitic pollution in the coastal seawater of Gaza city

BACKGROUND

The main objective of the study was the assessment of the prevalence and the identification of species of human gastrointestinal parasites as an indicator of the pollution of the seashore of Gaza City.

METHODS

The investigation was conducted by analysis of the parasitic contamination of seawater along the study area. A total of 52 samples of seawater were analyzed during the summer period; from June to October 2011. The study area was divided into six zones (A, B, C, D, E and F) according to specific criteria such as the presence of the wastewater discharge points and other geographical characteristics.

RESULTS

The results show that about 48% of the seawater samples from the shoreline region of Gaza City were contaminated with parasites. Zones A, B and D (mouth of Wadi Gaza, Al Sheikh Ejleen discharge and Al Shalehat discharge points respectively) have the highest level of parasitic contamination, while, zones C and E (From Al-Baydar restaurant to Khalel Alwazer Mosque and the basin of the Gaza marina respectively) had a lower level of contamination and zone F (From the northern part of the Gaza marina to the Intelligence Building) was uncontaminated. The parasitic species found were: Ascaris lumbricoides, Giardia lamblia, Strongyloides stercoralis, Hymenolepis nana, Entamoeba histolytica/dispar and Cryptosporidium parvum.

CONCLUSIONS

The present study revealed a high level of contamination with parasites at most of the points which were investigated along the Gaza City coast line.

Unit Process Wetlands for Removal of Trace Organic Contaminants and Pathogens from Municipal Wastewater Effluents

Treatment wetlands have become an attractive option for the removal of nutrients from municipal wastewater effluents due to their low energy requirements and operational costs, as well as the ancillary benefits they provide, including creating aesthetically appealing spaces and wildlife habitats. Treatment wetlands also hold promise as a means of removing other wastewater-derived contaminants, such as trace organic contaminants and pathogens. However, concerns about variations in treatment efficacy of these pollutants, coupled with an incomplete mechanistic understanding of their removal in wetlands, hinder the widespread adoption of constructed wetlands for these two classes of contaminants. A better understanding is needed so that wetlands as a unit process can be designed for their removal, with individual wetland cells optimized for the removal of specific contaminants, and connected in series or integrated with other engineered or natural treatment processes. In this article, removal mechanisms of trace organic contaminants and pathogens are reviewed, including sorption and sedimentation, biotransformation and predation, photolysis and photoinactivation, and remaining knowledge gaps are identified. In addition, suggestions are provided for how these treatment mechanisms can be enhanced in commonly employed unit process wetland cells or how they might be harnessed in novel unit process cells. It is hoped that application of the unit process concept to a wider range of contaminants will lead to more widespread application of wetland treatment trains as components of urban water infrastructure in the United States and around the globe.

Molecules to modeling: Toxoplasma gondii oocysts at the human-animal-environment interface

Environmental transmission of extremely resistant Toxoplasma gondii oocysts has resulted in infection of diverse species around the world, leading to severe disease and deaths in human and animal populations. This review explores T. gondii oocyst shedding, survival, and transmission, emphasizing the importance of linking laboratory and landscape from molecular characterization of oocysts to watershed-level models of oocyst loading and transport in terrestrial and aquatic systems. Building on discipline-specific studies, a One Health approach incorporating tools and perspectives from diverse fields and stakeholders has contributed to an advanced understanding of T. gondii and is addressing transmission at the rapidly changing human-animal-environment interface.

Effect of estuarine wetland degradation on transport of Toxoplasma gondii surrogates from land to sea

The flux of terrestrially derived pathogens to coastal waters presents a significant health risk to marine wildlife, as well as to humans who utilize the nearshore for recreation and seafood harvest. Anthropogenic changes in natural habitats may result in increased transmission of zoonotic pathogens to coastal waters. The objective of our work was to evaluate how human-caused alterations of coastal landscapes in California affect the transport of Toxoplasma gondii to estuarine waters. Toxoplasma gondii is a protozoan parasite that is excreted in the feces of infected felids and is thought to reach coastal waters in contaminated runoff. This zoonotic pathogen causes waterborne toxoplasmosis in humans and is a significant cause of death in threatened California sea otters. Surrogate particles that mimic the behavior of T. gondii oocysts in water were released in transport studies to evaluate if the loss of estuarine wetlands is contributing to an increased flux of oocysts into coastal waters. Compared to vegetated sites, more surrogates were recovered from unvegetated mudflat habitats, which represent degraded wetlands. Specifically, in Elkhorn Slough, where a large proportion of otters are infected with T. gondii, erosion of 36% of vegetated wetlands to mudflats may increase the flux of oocysts by more than 2 orders of magnitude. Total degradation of wetlands may result in increased Toxoplasma transport of 6 orders of magnitude or more. Destruction of wetland habitats along central coastal California may thus facilitate pathogen pollution in coastal waters with detrimental health impacts to wildlife and humans.

Inactivation of Cryptosporidium by ozone and cell ultrastructures

The fluorescence staining method and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) were used to study the effect of ozone (O3) inactivating Cryptosporidium in water and cell ultrastructures variation to shed light on the mechanism of inactivation preliminarily. Results indicated that O3 had a stronger inactivating capability. When the concentration of O3 was above 3.0 mg/L and the contact time was up to 7 min, a significant inactivating effect could be achieved. The turbidity on inactivation effects was also found to be statistically significant in artificial water. With increases in turbidity, the inactivating effect decreased. Inactivation rate improved with a temperature increase from 5 to 25 degrees C, but decreased beyond this. The inactivating capability of O3 was found to be stronger under acidic than that under alkalic conditions. When the concentration of organic matter in the reaction system was increased, the competition between Cryptosporidium and organics with O3 probably took place, thereby reducing the inactivation rate. In addition, the cellular morphology of Cryptosporidium varied with different contact times. At zero contact time, cells were rotundity and sphericity, at 60 sec they became folded, underwent emboly, and burst at 480 sec, the cell membrane of Cryptosporidium shrinked and collapsed completely.

Presence of Giardia cysts and Cryptosporidium oocysts in drinking water supplies in northern Spain

AIMS

To evaluate the prevalence of Cryptosporidium and Giardia in surface water supplies from the province of Alava, northern Spain, and to investigate possible associations among the presence of these pathogenic protozoa with microbiological, physicochemical and atmospheric parameters.

METHODS AND RESULTS

A total of 284 samples of drinking and recreational water supplies were analysed. Cryptosporidium oocysts were found in 63.5% of river samples, 33.3% of reservoirs samples, 15.4% and 22.6% of raw water samples from conventional and small water treatment facilities (respectively), 30.8% of treated water from small treatment facilities, and 26.8% of tap water from municipalities with chlorination treatment only. Giardia cysts were found in 92.3% of river samples, 55.5% of reservoirs samples, 26.9% and 45.2% of raw water samples from conventional and small water treatment facilities (respectively), 19.2% of treated water from small treatment facilities, and 26.8% of tap water from municipalities with chlorination treatment only. The presence of Cryptosporidium and Giardia had significant Pearson's correlation coefficients (P < 0.01) with the turbidity levels of the samples, and a number of significant associations were also found with the count levels for total coliforms and Escherichia coli. The samples were positive for Cryptosporidium significantly (P < 0.05) more frequently during the autumn season than during the spring and winter seasons. No significant differences were found in the seasonal pattern of Giardia. A moderate association (r = 0.52) was found between rainfall and the presence of Cryptosporidium oocysts.

CONCLUSIONS

Cryptosporidium and Giardia are consistently found at elevated concentrations in surface waters for human consumption from the province of Alava, northern Spain.

SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT OF THE STUDY

Water treatments based on rapid filtration process and/or chlorination only are often unsatisfactory to provide safe drinking water, a situation that represents an important public health problem for the affected population because of the risk of waterborne outbreaks.

The role of free water surface constructed wetlands as polishing step in municipal wastewater reclamation and reuse

In Europe, the last two decades witnessed growing water stress, both in terms of water scarcity and quality deterioration, which prompted many municipalities for a more efficient use of the water resources, including a more widespread acceptance of water reuse practices. Treatment technology encompasses a vast variety of options. Constructed wetlands are regarded as key elements in polishing conventionally treated wastewater for recreational and environmental applications. A survey was conducted to assess the performance of tertiary free water surface constructed wetlands in treating both key and emerging contaminant categories in the perspective of water reuse. A database was created with information concerning systems with emerging and free-floating macrophytes. The database includes results from both full- and pilot-scale systems, and considers a broad variety of operating conditions. This paper provides an overview of the treatment performances of the constructed wetlands in the database and discusses their significance in the optic of water reclamation and reuse practices.

Removal of micro-organisms in a small-scale hydroponics wastewater treatment system

AIMS

To measure the microbial removal capacity of a small-scale hydroponics wastewater treatment plant.

METHODS AND RESULTS

Paired samples were taken from untreated, partly-treated and treated wastewater and analysed for faecal microbial indicators, i.e. coliforms, Escherichia coli, enterococci, Clostridium perfringens spores and somatic coliphages, by culture based methods. Escherichia coli was never detected in effluent water after >5.8-log removal. Enterococci, coliforms, spores and coliphages were removed by 4.5, 4.1, 2.3 and 2.5 log respectively. Most of the removal (60-87%) took place in the latter part of the system because of settling, normal inactivation (retention time 12.7 d) and sand filtration. Time-dependent log-linear removal was shown for spores (k = -0.17 log d(-1), r(2) = 0.99).

CONCLUSIONS

Hydroponics wastewater treatment removed micro-organisms satisfactorily.

SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT OF THE STUDY

Investigations on the microbial removal capacity of hydroponics have only been performed for bacterial indicators. In this study it has been shown that virus and (oo)cyst process indicators were removed and that hydroponics can be an alternative to conventional wastewater treatment.

The persistence and removal of enteric pathogens in constructed wetlands

Sedimentation is thought to be one of the mechanisms of microbial reduction from wetlands used for wastewater treatment. This study compared the occurrence and survival of enteric indicator microorganisms and pathogens in the water column and sediments of two constructed surface flow wetlands in Arizona. On a volume/wet weight basis the concentration of fecal coliforms and coliphage in the water column and sediment was similar. However, on a volume/dry weight basis the numbers were one to two orders of magnitude higher in the sediment. Giardia cyst and Cryptosporidium oocyst concentrations were one to three orders of magnitude greater in the sediment compared to the water column. The die-off rates of all the bacteria and coliphage were greater in the water column than the sediment. The die-off rates of fecal coliforms in the water and sediment were 0.256log(10)day(-1) and 0.151log(10)day(-1), respectively. The die-off rates of Salmonella typhimurium in the water and sediment were 0.345log(10)day(-1) and 0.312log(10)day(-1), respectively. The die-off rates of naturally occurring coliphage in water column and sediment were 0.397log(10)day(-1) and 0.107log(10)day(-1), respectively, and the die-off rates of and PRD-1 in water and sediment were 0.198log(10)day(-1) and 0.054log(10)day(-1), respectively. In contrast Giardia die-off in the sediment was greater compared to the water column. The die-off rates of Giardia in water and sediment were 0.029log(10)day(-1) and 0.37log(10)day(-1), respectively. Coliphage survived the longest of any group of organisms in the sediment and the least in the water column. In contrast Giardia survived best in the water column and least in the sediment.

Microbial water quality improvement by small scale on-site subsurface wetland treatment

It has been demonstrated that large constructed wetlands used for domestic wastewater treatment are useful in the reduction of enteric microorganisms. This study evaluated the ability of three small-scale, on-site subsurface wetlands with different vegetation densities to remove total coliforms, fecal coliforms, coliphage, Giardia and Cryptosporidium. These wetlands were found to be equally efficient in the removal of enteric bacteria and coliphage as larger constructed wetlands. Giardia and Cryptosporidium were usually undetectable after passage of the wastewater through the subsurface wetlands. Coliphage removal increased with increasing vegetation density.