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Related Experiment Videos

Faecal bacteria yields in artificial flood events: quantifying in-stream stores.

R W Muirhead1, R J Davies-Colley, A M Donnison

  • 1AgResearch Ltd., Private Bag, Mosgiel 50034, New Zealand. richard.muirhead@agresearch.co.nz

Water Research
|February 21, 2004
PubMed
Summary

Stream sediments store significant fecal contamination. Artificial floods mobilized this contamination, releasing E. coli bacteria from the streambed sediment into the water column.

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Area of Science:

  • Environmental Microbiology
  • Water Quality Science
  • Hydrology

Background:

  • Stream sediments act as reservoirs for fecal contamination.
  • This contamination can be released into the water column by sediment-disturbing events like floods.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To quantify the in-channel store of fecal contamination in stream sediments.
  • To investigate the mobilization of fecal bacteria from sediments during artificial flood events.

Main Methods:

  • Artificial floods were created by releasing water from a reservoir during dry weather.
  • Escherichia coli (E. coli) concentrations in the water column were measured before, during, and after flood events.
  • Sediment E. coli concentrations and biofilm concentrations were directly measured.

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Main Results:

  • Artificial floods increased E. coli concentrations by two orders of magnitude (from 10^2 to over 10^4 cfu/100 mL).
  • Bacterial concentrations and yields decreased with successive floods in a triplicate series.
  • The total in-channel E. coli store was estimated at approximately 10^8 cfu/m^2 of streambed area.

Conclusions:

  • Stream sediments represent a substantial in-channel store of fecal contamination.
  • Artificial floods effectively mobilize E. coli from sediments, with biofilms on rocks not being a significant source.
  • The study provides a quantitative estimate of the fecal contamination store within stream sediments.