Characterization of dissolved organic carbon in shallow groundwater of chronic kidney disease affected regions in Sri Lanka

Makehelwala, Madhubhashini; Wei, Yuansong; Weragoda, S. K.; Weerasooriya, Rohan; Zheng, Liping

doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.12.435

Cited by 50 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 45 publications

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“…As shown in Table 1, electrical conductivity, alkalinity, hardness, fluoride, and many other ionic components are present in higher concentrations in water collected during dry climatic season when compared to those values in the wet climatic season. As shown previously [11], the water DOC levels are high in water of tropical terrains, which is largely due to enhanced microbial activities. As illustrated in Table 1, the DOC levels in water collected during the wet climatic season are higher than the water in dry climatic season.…”

Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 56%

“…Natural organic matter in water is ubiquitous and it acts as a precursor in forming disinfectant by products or carcinogens [24]. Recently, our research group have shown that the organic factions of molecular weights range 900–1800 Da are enriched in the groundwater of high CKDu prevalence zones [11]. Therefore, investigations into this direction are noteworthy.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In most cases, the presence of excess fluoride and hardness (commonly [Ca 2+ ] > [Mg 2+ ] with major ions ([HCO 3 − ] > [Cl − ] > [SO 4 2− ]) in water seems to aggravate the prevalence of CKDu [10]. In a parallel study, our researchers have fractionated the dissolved organic carbon (DOC) in groundwater from CKDu endemic areas into three groups, as Fraction-I (MW < 900 Da), Fraction-II (900–1800 Da), and Fraction-III (1800–4000 Da); fraction-II is denoted as the building blocks of non-biodegradable organic substances that are mostly enriched in the groundwater of high CKDu prevalence zone [11]. An urgent strategic planning is required to provide water for drinking and cooking facilities for CKDu affected families.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Assessment of Groundwater Quality in CKDu Affected Areas of Sri Lanka: Implications for Drinking Water Treatment

Cooray

Wei

Zhong

et al. 2019

IJERPH

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This study investigated the water quality of the groundwater that was collected from the chronic kidney disease of unknown etiology (CKDu) prevailing areas in the dry zone of Sri Lanka to assess its suitability for drinking purposes, and for the first time a Water Quality Index (WQI) with emphasis on proposing appropriate drinking water treatment method was developed. A total of 88 groundwater samples were collected in dry (December 2016) and wet (May 2017) seasons; high concentrations of water hardness, fluoride, salinity, dissolved organic carbon (DOC), and the general alkaline nature of water were the main issues that were observed for disease incidence. The chemical weathering of the underlying bedrock, followed by ion exchange and precipitation processes, primarily controlled groundwater geochemistry. During the 1985–2017 period, the variations of the annual rainfall and temperature were minimal, which suggests no evidence for major climatic changes within the study areas. Almost all of the samples from the CKDu regions show a low alkali hazard and most of the samples show a medium to high salinity hazard. The DOC of the studied samples was mainly composed of the organic fractions in the following order, as fulvic acids > humic acids > aromatic protein II > soluble microbial by-products, and the molecular weights (MW) of these fractions ranged from 100–3000 Da. Based on the water quality index (WQI) calculations, it was found that only 3.8% in the wet season and 2.6% in the dry season of total water samples were categorized as the “excellent” type, and all other water sources require a further treatment before consumption. As there is an urgent need for establishing proper long-term drinking water treatment technology for the CKDu affected area, these findings can be used as benchmark of raw water quality in the design processes of treatment plants.

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Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 56%

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Assessment of Groundwater Quality in CKDu Affected Areas of Sri Lanka: Implications for Drinking Water Treatment

Cooray

Wei

Zhong

et al. 2019

IJERPH

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“…Previous reports have investigated potential environmental 6 , 7 , genetic 8 , occupational and social 3 , 9 , 10 risk factors for CKDu without generating conclusive evidence for specific causes. Recent studies have pointed towards an association between CKDu, groundwater chemistry and the water quality in household wells 11 – 14 , suggesting that the disease could be caused by hydrogeochemical factors such as high fluoride and water hardness, heavy metals and microbial contamination or combinations thereof. CKDu is presently viewed as a complex disease mostly found in certain rural populations and provisionally defined by the absence of consistently observed causes commonly associated with chronic kidney disease.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The water chemistry and microbiome of household wells in Medawachchiya, Sri Lanka, an area with high prevalence of chronic kidney disease of unknown origin (CKDu)

McDonough

Meredith

Nikagolla

et al. 2020

Sci Rep

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Chronic kidney disease (CKD) of unknown etiology (CKDu) mostly affects agricultural communities in Central America, South Asia, Africa, but likely also in North America and Australia. One such area with increased CKDu prevalence is the Medawachchiya District Secretariat Division of the Anuradhapura District in the North Central Province of Sri Lanka. Recent research has focused on the presence of various microbial pathogens in drinking water as potential causal or contributing factors to CKDu, yet no study to date has performed a more comprehensive microbial and water chemistry assessment of household wells used for domestic water supply in areas of high CKDu prevalence. In this study, we describe the chemical composition and total microbial content in 30 domestic household wells in the Medawachchiya District Secretariat Division. While the chemical composition in the tested wells mostly lies within standard drinking water limits, except for high levels of fluoride (F), magnesium (Mg), sodium (Na), chloride (Cl) and calcium (Ca) in some samples, we find a frequent presence of cyanotoxin-producing Microcystis, confirming earlier studies in Sri Lanka. Since the total microbial content of drinking water also directly influences the composition of the human gut microbiome, it can be considered an important determinant of health. Several bacterial phyla were previously reported in the gut microbiome of patients with CKD. Using these bacteria phyla to define operational taxonomic units, we found that these bacteria also occur in the microbiome of the sampled well water. Based on available environmental data, our study demonstrates associations between the abundances of these bacteria with geographical distribution, well water temperature and likely fertilizer use in the local surface water catchment area of the individual household wells. Our results reinforce the recommendation that household wells with stagnant or infrequently used water should be purged prior to use for drinking water, bathing and irrigation. The latter is suggested because of the reported potential accumulation of bacterial toxins by agricultural crops. The observation that bacteria previously found in chronic kidney disease patients are also present in household wells requires a more detailed systematic study of both the human gut and drinking water microbiomes in CKDu patients, in relation to disease prevalence and progression.

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“…However, the studies toward the effect of water consumption on the incidence rate of CKDu is scarce to date. We examined the chemical quality of groundwater from different CKDu affected zones [12,13] and developed an integrated water quality index (WQI) [13] to demarcate water with high TDS, DOC, and fluoride in CKDu areas that requires treatment [14].…”

Section: Groundwater Quality In Ckdu Areasmentioning

confidence: 99%

Drinking-Water Supply for CKDu Affected Areas of Sri Lanka, Using Nanofiltration Membrane Technology: From Laboratory to Practice

Cooray

Wei

Zhang

et al. 2019

Water

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Installation of decentralized water-treatment plants is an ideal option to supply safe drinking water for rural communities. Presently in Sri Lanka, over 3.6 million villagers face acute water-quality problems, and chronic kidney disease of unknown etiology (CKDu) is also prevalent among this community. Most of the drinking water in these villages is unpalatable due to high hardness and salinity. As an interim measure, reverse-osmosis (RO) water-treatment plants are introduced to provide safe water. However, due to deficient electrolytes, RO-treated water tastes unpleasant to some consumers; hence, people refuse it after prolonged use. The operation, maintenance, and management of RO plants are other major problems. Aimed at providing safe drinking water to the rural sector in a cost-effective manner, in this study, we fabricated an automated drinking-water purification system based on nanofiltration (NF) membrane technology, which can remove divalent cations, dissolved organic carbon (DOC) and pathogens efficiently, and monovalent ions partially, and thus keep electrolytes to some degree. Ten commercial NF membranes were tested in a laboratory, for solute and DOC removal efficiency and robustness. The DF-90 membrane showed the highest removal of DOC and hardness, and it was therefore selected, to design a pilot NF drinking-water treatment plant. The adhered DOC by the membrane can be cleaned by NaOH solution (pH = 12). The pilot NF drinking-water treatment plant has been in use since September 2018, and it shows excellent performance of removing DOC, TDS, hardness, fluoride, and pathogens in groundwater, and the permeate water of the NF plant has been well-accepted by the stakeholders of the society. The dominant genus of source water, and throughout the two processes (NF and RO), is Pseudomonas, and their difference is significant in the concentrates of the NF and RO processes.

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Characterization of dissolved organic carbon in shallow groundwater of chronic kidney disease affected regions in Sri Lanka

Cited by 50 publications

References 45 publications

Assessment of Groundwater Quality in CKDu Affected Areas of Sri Lanka: Implications for Drinking Water Treatment

Assessment of Groundwater Quality in CKDu Affected Areas of Sri Lanka: Implications for Drinking Water Treatment

The water chemistry and microbiome of household wells in Medawachchiya, Sri Lanka, an area with high prevalence of chronic kidney disease of unknown origin (CKDu)

Drinking-Water Supply for CKDu Affected Areas of Sri Lanka, Using Nanofiltration Membrane Technology: From Laboratory to Practice

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