Assessment of public health risk associated with viral contamination in harvested urban stormwater for domestic applications

Lim, Keah-Ying; Hamilton, Andrew J.; Jiang, Sunny C.

doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2015.03.077

Cited by 100 publications

(62 citation statements)

References 96 publications

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“…This model is also a more conservative model yielding higher risk estimates, which may lead to a more cautious risk management approach. The same model selection decision was also made by many QMRA models involving NoV [29,30,41,42]. However, future research is urgently needed to fill the data gap and to improve the understanding of NoV dose-response for an improved risk assessment result.…”

Section: Uncertainties Of the Risk Outcomesmentioning

confidence: 98%

Assessment of Cryptosporidium and norovirus risk associated with de facto wastewater reuse in Trinity River, Texas

Lim

Jiang

2017

Microbial Risk Analysis

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De facto reuse refers to the use of surface water that contains a considerable portion of wastewater effluent from upstream communities as a source water for drinking water supplies. In contrast to the highly regulated domestic wastewater reuse practices in the U.S., not much is known regarding the human health risk associated with de facto reuse. Trinity River, Texas, a wastewater dominated river that is used as the main source of drinking water for Houston, is used as an exemplar to quantify the health risk associated with exposure to Cryptosporidium and norovirus through drinking water contaminated with wastewater effluents. The results show that the annual infection risks exceed the U.S. EPA recommended annual safe drinking water health risk of 10-4 per person per year (pppy) for all scenarios considered. However, a comparison of the corresponding disease burdens with the World Health Organization's annual disease burden for safe drinking water of 10-6 DALYs pppy indicates the disease burdens are mostly within the acceptable range of the guideline. This difference in risk interpretations reflects the difference in the fundamental definition of the two risk benchmarks as well as the gaps in data and risk models (including the conversion from infection to illness risk and expected DALY per infection). The results also imply that the current safe drinking water regulatory framework should be reexamined to best achieve the goal of human health protection. The outcomes of this study provide an overall picture of the potential risk associated with de facto reuse, which contributes to a better understanding of the practice and decisions in wastewater reuse in the U.S. and the rest of the world.

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Section: Uncertainties Of the Risk Outcomesmentioning

confidence: 98%

Assessment of Cryptosporidium and norovirus risk associated with de facto wastewater reuse in Trinity River, Texas

Lim

Jiang

2017

Microbial Risk Analysis

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“…Dilution factors are sometimes applied to estimate pathogen loads between stormwater and receiving recreational bodies; for example, McBride et al (2013) used a 30-fold dilution factor applied to the concentrations of pathogens observed in stormwater discharges. Other studies have applied an estimated microbial decay factor for particular pathogens or indicators as surrogates for pathogens in stormwater, sometimes also coupled with a dilution factor (Petterson et al, 2016;Lim et al, 2015). The use of hydrodynamic mixing and inactivation models such as those applied by Andersen et al (2013) could be used to obtain more accurate site-specific dilution information, or a distribution of dilution factors could be incorporated into a Monte Carlo approach in QMRA models as performed in Soller et al, 2017. Improved characterization of different removal values for bacteria, protozoans and viruses in stormwater treatment processes can also improve QMRA estimates, as previous estimates have been based on FIB rather than pathogens themselves due to limited data (Davies et al, 2008;Page et al, 2010aPage et al, , 2010bPage et al, , 2010cPage et al, , 2010dPetterson et al, 2016).…”

Section: Page Et Al 2010bmentioning

confidence: 99%

A review on microbial contaminants in stormwater runoff and outfalls: Potential health risks and mitigation strategies

Ahmed

Hamilton

Toze

et al. 2019

Science of The Total Environment

119

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Editor: Patricia HoldenDemands on global water supplies are increasing in response to the need to provide more food, water, and energy for a rapidly growing population. These water stressors are exacerbated by climate change, as well as the growth and urbanisation of industry and commerce. Consequently, urban water authorities around the globe are exploring alternative water sources to meet ever-increasing demands. These alternative sources are primarily treated sewage, stormwater, and groundwater. Stormwater including roof-harvested rainwater has been considered as an alternative water source for both potable and non-potable uses. One of the most significant issues concerning alternative water reuse is the public health risk associated with chemical and microbial contaminants. Several studies to date have quantified fecal indicators and pathogens in stormwater. Microbial source tracking (MST) approaches have also been used to determine the sources of fecal contamination in stormwater and receiving waters. This review paper summarizes occurrence and concentrations of fecal indicators, pathogens, and MST marker genes in urban stormwater. A section of the review highlights the removal of fecal indicators and pathogens through water sensitive urban design (WSUD) or Best Management Practices (BMPs). We also discuss approaches for assessing and mitigating health risks associated with stormwater, including a summary of existing quantitative microbial risk assessment (QMRA) models for potable and non-potable reuse of stormwater. Finally, the most critical research gaps are identified for formulating risk management strategies.Crown

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“…Therefore, adaptation of QMRA for antimicrobial resistant infections will require expanding conversion factors to account for longer disease duration and greater severity. Expanding conversion factors will require consideration of country-level differences, as conversion is based on disease surveillance data that are regionally-bounded, and therefore may not be representative of the population from different countries [80].…”

Section: Risk Characterization and Managementmentioning

confidence: 99%

Reusing Treated Wastewater: Consideration of the Safety Aspects Associated with Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria and Antibiotic Resistance Genes

Hong

Julian

Pype

et al. 2018

Water

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As more countries engage in water reuse, either intended or de facto, there is an urgent need to more comprehensively evaluate resulting environmental and public health concerns. While antibiotic-resistant bacteria (ARB) and antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) are increasingly coming under the spotlight, as emerging contaminants, existing water reuse regulations and guidelines do not adequately address these concerns. This perspectives paper seeks to frame the various challenges that need to be resolved to identify meaningful and realistic target types and levels of antibiotic resistance benchmarks for water reuse. First, there is the need for standardized and agreed-upon methodologies to identify and quantify ARB and ARGs. Second, even if methodologies are available, identifying which ARB and ARGs to monitor that would best relate to the occurrence of disease burden remains unknown. Third, a framework tailored to assessing the risks associated with ARB and ARGs during reuse is urgently needed. Fourth, similar to protecting drinking water sources, strategies to prevent dissemination of ARB and ARGs via wastewater treatment and reuse are required to ensure that appropriate barriers are emplaced. Finally, current wastewater treatment technologies could benefit from modification or retrofit to more effectively remove ARB and ARGs while also producing a high quality product for water and resource recovery. This perspectives paper highlights the need to consider ARB and ARGs when evaluating the overall safety aspects of water reuse and ways by which this may be accomplished.

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Assessment of public health risk associated with viral contamination in harvested urban stormwater for domestic applications

Cited by 100 publications

References 96 publications

Assessment of Cryptosporidium and norovirus risk associated with de facto wastewater reuse in Trinity River, Texas

Assessment of Cryptosporidium and norovirus risk associated with de facto wastewater reuse in Trinity River, Texas

A review on microbial contaminants in stormwater runoff and outfalls: Potential health risks and mitigation strategies

Reusing Treated Wastewater: Consideration of the Safety Aspects Associated with Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria and Antibiotic Resistance Genes

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