Quantifying the impact of runoff events on microbiological contaminant concentrations entering surface drinking source waters

Signor, RS; Roser, DJ; Ashbolt, NJ; Ball, JE

Quantifying the impact of runoff events on microbiological contaminant concentrations entering surface drinking source waters

Signor, RS Roser, DJ Ashbolt, NJ

Ball, JE

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Publication Type:: Journal Article
Citation:: Journal of Water and Health, 2005, 3 (4), pp. 453 - 468
Issue Date:: 2005-01-01

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Field	Value	Language
dc.contributor.author	Signor, RS	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Roser, DJ	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Ashbolt, NJ https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3853-0096	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Ball, JE https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8342-1916	en_US
dc.date.issued	2005-01-01	en_US
dc.identifier.citation	Journal of Water and Health, 2005, 3 (4), pp. 453 - 468	en_US
dc.identifier.issn	1477-8920	en_US
dc.identifier.uri	http://hdl.handle.net/10453/9134
dc.description.abstract	Concentrations of microbiological contaminants in streams increase during rainfall-induced higher flow 'event' periods as compared to 'baseflow' conditions. If the stream feeds a drinking water reservoir, such periods of heightened pathogen loads may pose a challenge to the water treatment plant and subsequently a health concern to water consumers downstream. In order to manage this risk, it is desirable to first quantify the differences in surface water quality between baseflow and event conditions. The Event Mean Concentration (EMC) is a flow-weighted average concentration of a contaminant over the duration of a single event, proposed here as a standard parameter for quantifying the net effect of events on microbial water quality. Application of the EMC concept was assessed using flow and quality data for several events from an urbanised catchment. Expected mean EMCs were significantly larger than expected mean baseflow concentrations ( p-value≤0.012) for three microbial agents - Escherichia coli (13,000 [n = 7] v. 610 [n = 16] mpn/100 ml), Cryptosporidium (234 [n = 6] v. 51 [n = 16] oocysts/10 litres) and Campylobacter (48 [n = 5] v. 2.1 [n = 16] mpn/100 ml). These parameter estimates were complemented by estimating data variability and uncertainty in the form of second-order random variables. As such the results are in a format appropriate for potential use as components in probabilistic risk assessments evaluating the effect runoff events have on drinking water quality. © IWA Publishing 2005.	en_US
dc.relation.ispartof	Journal of Water and Health	en_US
dc.relation.isbasedon	10.2166/wh.2005.052	en_US
dc.subject.classification	Microbiology	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	Animals	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	Cryptosporidium	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	Campylobacter	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	Escherichia coli	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	Likelihood Functions	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	Water Microbiology	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	Fresh Water	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	Water Movements	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	Water Supply	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	Australia	en_US
dc.title	Quantifying the impact of runoff events on microbiological contaminant concentrations entering surface drinking source waters	en_US
dc.type	Journal Article
utslib.citation.volume	4	en_US
utslib.citation.volume	3	en_US
utslib.for	090509 Water Resources Engineering	en_US
dc.location.activity	Toronto, Canada
pubs.embargo.period	Not known	en_US
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney/Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney/Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology/School of Civil and Environmental Engineering
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney/Strength - CTWW - Centre for Technology in Water and Wastewater Treatment
utslib.copyright.status	closed_access
pubs.issue	4	en_US
pubs.publication-status	Published	en_US
pubs.volume	3	en_US

Abstract:

Concentrations of microbiological contaminants in streams increase during rainfall-induced higher flow 'event' periods as compared to 'baseflow' conditions. If the stream feeds a drinking water reservoir, such periods of heightened pathogen loads may pose a challenge to the water treatment plant and subsequently a health concern to water consumers downstream. In order to manage this risk, it is desirable to first quantify the differences in surface water quality between baseflow and event conditions. The Event Mean Concentration (EMC) is a flow-weighted average concentration of a contaminant over the duration of a single event, proposed here as a standard parameter for quantifying the net effect of events on microbial water quality. Application of the EMC concept was assessed using flow and quality data for several events from an urbanised catchment. Expected mean EMCs were significantly larger than expected mean baseflow concentrations ( p-value≤0.012) for three microbial agents - Escherichia coli (13,000 [n = 7] v. 610 [n = 16] mpn/100 ml), Cryptosporidium (234 [n = 6] v. 51 [n = 16] oocysts/10 litres) and Campylobacter (48 [n = 5] v. 2.1 [n = 16] mpn/100 ml). These parameter estimates were complemented by estimating data variability and uncertainty in the form of second-order random variables. As such the results are in a format appropriate for potential use as components in probabilistic risk assessments evaluating the effect runoff events have on drinking water quality. © IWA Publishing 2005.

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http://hdl.handle.net/10453/9134