دورية أكاديمية

Using a combination of quantitative culture, molecular, and infrastructure data to rank potential sources of fecal contamination in Town Creek Estuary, North Carolina.

التفاصيل البيبلوغرافية
العنوان: Using a combination of quantitative culture, molecular, and infrastructure data to rank potential sources of fecal contamination in Town Creek Estuary, North Carolina.
المؤلفون: Jenna M Hynes, Rachelle E Beattie, A Denene Blackwood, Thomas Clerkin, Javier Gallard-Góngora, Rachel T Noble
المصدر: PLoS ONE, Vol 19, Iss 4, p e0299254 (2024)
بيانات النشر: Public Library of Science (PLoS), 2024.
سنة النشر: 2024
المجموعة: LCC:Medicine
LCC:Science
مصطلحات موضوعية: Medicine, Science
الوصف: Estuarine water quality is declining worldwide due to increased tourism, coastal development, and a changing climate. Although well-established methods are in place to monitor water quality, municipalities struggle to use the data to prioritize infrastructure for monitoring and repair and to determine sources of contamination when they occur. The objective of this study was to assess water quality and prioritize sources of contamination within Town Creek Estuary (TCE), Beaufort, North Carolina, by combining culture, molecular, and geographic information systems (GIS) data into a novel contamination source ranking system. Water samples were collected from TCE at ten locations on eight sampling dates in Fall 2021 (n = 80). Microbiological water quality was assessed using US Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA) approved culture-based methods for fecal indicator bacteria (FIB), including analysis of total coliforms (TC), Escherichia coli (EC), and Enterococcus spp. (ENT). The quantitative microbial source tracking (qMST) human-associated fecal marker, HF183, was quantified using droplet digital PCR (ddPCR). This information was combined with environmental data and GIS information detailing proximal sewer, septic, and stormwater infrastructure to determine potential sources of fecal contamination in the estuary. Results indicated FIB concentrations were significantly and positively correlated with precipitation and increased throughout the estuary following rainfall events (p < 0.01). Sampling sites with FIB concentrations above the U.S. EPA threshold also had the highest percentages of aged, less durable piping materials. Using a novel ranking system combining concentrations of FIB, HF183, and sewer infrastructure data at each site, we found that the two sites nearest the most aged sewage infrastructure and stormwater outflows were found to have the highest levels of measurable fecal contamination. This case study supports the inclusion of both traditional water quality measurements and local infrastructure data to support the current need for municipalities to identify, prioritize, and remediate failing infrastructure.
نوع الوثيقة: article
وصف الملف: electronic resource
اللغة: English
تدمد: 1932-6203
Relation: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0299254&type=printable; https://doaj.org/toc/1932-6203
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0299254&type=printable
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0299254
URL الوصول: https://doaj.org/article/827240e593c0459eb2d25bcdbb6a1ac9
رقم الأكسشن: edsdoj.827240e593c0459eb2d25bcdbb6a1ac9
قاعدة البيانات: Directory of Open Access Journals
الوصف
تدمد:19326203
DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0299254&type=printable