Private wells in Ireland and elsewhere have been shown to be prone to microbial contamination with the main suspected sources being practices associated with agriculture and domestic wastewater treatment systems (DWWTS). While the microbial quality of private well water is commonly assessed using faecal indicator bacteria, such as Escherichia coli, such organisms are not usually source-specific, and hence cannot definitively conclude the exact origin of the contamination. This research assessed a range of different chemical contamination fingerprinting techniques (ionic ratios, artificial sweeteners, caffeine, fluorescent whitening compounds, faecal sterol profiles and pharmaceuticals) as to their use to apportion contamination of private wells between human wastewater and animal husbandry wastes in rural areas of Ireland. A one-off sampling and analysis campaign of 212 private wells found that 15% were contaminated with E. coli. More extensive monitoring of 24 selected wells found 58% to be contaminated with E. coli on at least one occasion over a 14-month period. The application of fingerprinting techniques to these monitored wells found that the use of chloride/bromide and potassium/sodium ratios is a useful low-cost fingerprinting technique capable of identifying impacts from human wastewater and organic agricultural contamination, respectively. The artificial sweetener acesulfame was detected on several occasions in a number of monitored wells, indicating its conservative nature and potential use as a fingerprinting technique for human wastewater. However, neither fluorescent whitening compounds nor caffeine were detected in any wells, and faecal sterol profiles proved inconclusive, suggesting limited suitability for the conditions investigated.

Knowledge of the transport and fate of pathogenic Escherichia coli, especially in the areas contaminated with crude oil, is required to assess contamination of shallow groundwater resources. The present study aims to investigate the effect of crude oil-mediated water repellency on the movement of nalidixic acid-resistant Escherichia coli strain (E. coli NAR) and bromide (Br) as an inert tracer in two soil types. The soils were contaminated at three levels of 0, 0.5 and 1% w/w of total petroleum hydrocarbons (TPHs) using crude oil. Steady-state saturated flow in the soil columns was controlled using a tension infiltrometer. Leaching experiments were conducted through the columns of repacked (un-weathered) and physically-weathered clay loam (CL) and sandy loam (SL) soils. The columns leachate was sampled at specific times for 4 pore volumes. The shape of breakthrough curves for the E. coli NAR and Br depended on soil texture and structure and the TPHs level. Preferential flow in the crude oil-mediated water-repellent soils facilitated the transport of contaminants especially E. coli NAR. Filtration coefficient and relative adsorption index of bacteria were greatest in the repacked CL soils and were lowest in the weathered SL soils. Discontinuity of soil pores and lower flow velocity resulted in greater filtration of E. coli NAR in the repacked CL soil than other treatments. Physical weathering induced the formation of aggregates which reduced soil particle surfaces available for retention of water-repellent oil and contaminants. Movement of both bacteria and Br tracer in the weathered SL soil with 1% TPHs was higher than other treatments. This finding was attributed to low specific surface area, continuity of the pores and water repellency-mediated preferential pathways in the weathered SL soil columns. Our findings implied that shallow groundwater resources could be very sensitive to microbial contamination particularly in the oil-mediated water-repellent soils.

Currently, 1.3 billion tonnes of food are thrown away each year, most of which are incinerated or landfilled causing large environmental, social, and economic issues. Therefore, the utilisation of food waste as biofertilisers, such as composts and digestates, is a solution to reduce the problems created by incineration and landfilling whilst simultaneously amending soils. The improper disposal of food wastes and bulking materials can contribute to high levels of contaminants within the end-product. Moreover, the food waste and bulking materials, themselves, may contain trace amounts of contaminants. These contaminants tend to have long half-lives, are easily mobile within soil and plants, can accumulate within the food supply chain, and have moderate to high levels of toxicity. This review aims to examine the current and emerging contaminants of high concern that impact the quality of food-waste fertilisers. The paper presents the volume of current and emerging contaminants of plastics, other physical (particulate) contaminants, heavy metals, pesticides, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), and pathogens within food-waste composts and digestates. Due to the large extent of organic chemical contaminants and the unknown level of toxicity and persistence, the risk assessment of organic chemical contaminants in the food-supply chain remains largely unknown. This study has presented available data from literature of various contaminants found in food waste, and composts and digestates derived from food waste, and evaluated the data with current regulations globally. Overall, to reduce contaminants in composts and digestates, more studies are required on the implementation of proper disposal separation, effective composting and digestion practices, increased screening of physical contaminants, development of compostable plastics, and increased regulatory policies on emerging, problematic contaminants. Moreover, examination of emerging contaminants in food-waste composts and digestates is needed to ensure food security and reduce future human-health risks.

Because of the complexity of contaminants infiltrating groundwater, it is necessary to study the co-transport of contaminants in the vadose and saturated zones. To investigate the role of inorganic colloids in the transport of biocolloids through porous media, a series of experiments were performed using columns packed with sand. The Escherichia coli phage (E. coli phage) was used as the model virus and silica as the model colloid in this study. The model virus exhibited a higher degree of attachment when compared with silica under similar experimental conditions. Under unsaturated flow conditions, the degree of virus retention was higher than in the corresponding saturated flow case, regardless of the presence of silica. Mass recovery and breakthrough curve data showed that silica hindered virus transport in saturated porous media. The model virus exhibited a higher degree of retention in the presence of silica. This could be related to pore structure changes caused by aggregated virus-silica particles located within the pores of the sand. Conversely, the suspended virus retained at the air-water interface provided new retention sites for other colloids; the retention was observed to be higher in the presence of colloidal silica in the saturated columns. In the corresponding unsaturated experiments, silica was observed to play the opposite function with respect to virus transport, which demonstrated that silica facilitated virus transport in the presence of unsaturated porous media. Capillary forces were stronger than the virus-silica interactions, and inhibited the aggregation of particles. Suspended silica competes with the virus for sorption sites because of a high affinity for the air-water interface. This competition inhibits virus retention by electrostatic repulsion of like-charged particles, and concomitantly facilitates virus transport under unsaturated conditions.

Private groundwater sources in the Republic of Ireland provide drinking water to an estimated 750,000 people or 16% of the national population. Consumers of untreated groundwater are at increased risk of infection from pathogenic microorganisms. However, given the volume of private wells in operation, remediation or even quantification of public risk is both costly and time consuming. In this study, a hierarchical logistic regression model was developed to ‘predict’ contamination with E. coli based on the results of groundwater quality analyses of private wells (n = 132) during the period of September 2011 to November 2012. Assessment of potential microbial contamination risk factors were categorised into three groups: Intrinsic (environmental factors), Specific (local features) and Infrastructural (groundwater source characteristics) which included a total of 15 variables. Overall, 51.4% of wells tested positive for E. coli during the study period with univariate analysis indicating that 11 of the 15 assessed risk factors, including local bedrock type, local subsoil type, septic tank reliance, 5 day antecedent precipitation and temperature, along with well type and depth, were all significantly associated with E. coli presence (p < 0.05). Hierarchical logistic regression was used to develop a private well susceptibility model with the final model containing 8 of the 11 associated variables. The model was shown to be highly efficient; correctly classifying the presence of E. coli in 94.2% of cases, and the absence of E. coli in 84.7% of cases. Model validation was performed using an external data set (n = 32) and it was shown that the model has promising accuracy with 90% of positive E. coli cases correctly predicted. The developed model represents a risk assessment and management tool that may be used to develop effective water-quality management strategies to minimize public health risks both in Ireland and abroad.

Groundwater is an essential public and drinking water supply and its protection is a goal for global policies. Here, we investigated the presence and prevalence of antibiotic residues, antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs), mobile genetic elements (MGEs), and microbial contamination in groundwater environments at various distances from urban areas. Antibiotic concentrations ranged from below detection limit to 917 ng/L, being trimethoprim, macrolide, and sulfonamide the most abundant antibiotic classes. A total of eleven ARGs (aminoglycoside, β-lactam, chloramphenicol, Macrolide-Lincosamide-Streptogramin B - MLSB, sulfonamide, and tetracycline), one antiseptic resistance gene, and two MGEs were detected by qPCR with relative abundances ranging from 6.61 × 10−7 to 2.30 × 10−1 copies/16S rRNA gene copies. ARGs and MGEs were widespread in the investigated groundwater environments, with increased abundances not only in urban, but also in remote areas. Distinct bacterial community profiles were observed, with a higher prevalence of Betaproteobacteria and Bacteroidetes in the less-impacted areas, and that of Firmicutes in the contaminated groundwater. The combined characteristics of increased species diversity, distinct phylogenetic composition, and the possible presence of fecal and/or pathogenic bacteria could indicate different types of contamination. Significant correlations between ARGs, MGEs and specific taxa within the groundwater bacterial community were identified, revealing the potential hosts of resistance types. Although no universal marker gene could be determined, a co-selection of int1, qacEΔ1 and sulI genes, a proxy group for anthropogenic pollution, with the tetC, tetO, tetW resistance genes was identified. As the tet group was observed to follow the pattern of environmental contamination for the groundwater samples investigated in this study, our results strongly support the proposal of this group of genes as an environmental tracer of human impact. Overall, the present study investigated several emerging contaminants in groundwater habitats that may be included in monitoring programs to enable further regulatory and protection measures.

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: This paper reviews various low-cost treatment techniques such as adsorption, permeable reactive barrier, and biological techniques for the simultaneous removal of chemical and microbial contaminants from groundwater and discusses treatment mechanisms of different treatment techniques. This paper also discusses the challenges of groundwater treatment, how to choose the appropriate treatment technique, and cost analysis of groundwater treatment. RECENT FINDINGS: Various treatment technologies have been used for the treatment of groundwater: physical, chemical, and biological technologies with different success rates. In the literature, various adsorbents have been successfully synthesized from low-cost and environmentally friendly materials. Adsorption is considered an efficient treatment technique for the removal of both toxic elements and pathogens by utilizing different adsorbents. For example, the nanostructures of MgO with a BET surface area of up to 171 m²/g obtained a very high adsorption capacity of 29,131 mg/g for fluoride ions in water, while the incorporation of iron in activated carbon has improved its adsorption capacity to 51.3 mg/g for arsenic. Moreover, certain adsorbents have shown the capability to remove 99% of the rotavirus and adenovirus from groundwater. Groundwater resources are contaminated with toxic metals and pathogens. Therefore, water treatment technologies should be evaluated for their efficiency to remove such contaminants. Determination of the most cost-effective and efficient treatment technique is not an easy task and requires the understanding of various aspects such as the contaminants present in water, the reuse options considered, and cost analysis of the treatment technique.

In Small Island Developing States (SIDS), water pollution is not monitored or assessed frequently enough to fully understand the processes, impacts of water quality issues and what solutions are available This study investigated flushing time in Erakor lagoon and Port Vila Bay, Vanuatu using a numerical model developed in Delft3D. Microbial contamination by Escherichia coli was detected in multiple locations in the lagoon system with counts exceeding thresholds related to human health concerns. Modelling demonstrated a poor flushing time overall with a further decrease as the influence of waves and wind increased, especially in Vila Bay. Sea level rise resulted in an increase in flushing time downstream of the lagoon near the open sea, while with a decrease upstream and in Vila Bay. Based on these results, we recommend long-term continuous monitoring and identification of higher risks areas to prioritise decisions around wastewater management.

The presence of extended-spectrum β-lactamase (ESBL)-producing Escherichia coli in oceanic ecosystems constitutes an emerging public health risks in the marine environment. In this study, we report for the first time the identification of ESBL (CTX-M)-producing E. coli in wild fishes from a polluted area in the South Atlantic coast of Brazil, where a genomic analysis confirm the presence of livestock and human E. coli lineages belonging to sequence types (STs) ST744 and ST746, which carried clinically relevant resistance genes for human and veterinary antibiotics, and heavy metals. These findings reveal the presence of multidrug-resistant (MDR) bacteria in the gut microbiota of wild fishes living in polluted coastal waters, alerting that microbial contamination by bacteria related directly and indirectly to human or animal activities could affect the safety of the seafood supply, as well as the commercial and recreational use of coastal marine waters.

The aim of this work is to assess the physicochemical conditions of the supratidal sediments colonized by microbial mats at two sites from Rosales Harbor (Bahía Blanca Estuary, Argentina) close to sewage discharge. Both sites differed in the size grain. No differences in pH, Eh and temperature were observed. Moisture retention and chlorophyll a concentration were significantly different between sites and sediment layers. Heavy metals and organic matter content were significantly higher in SII. No statistical differences were found in porewater nutrients concentration, being higher in SI (except DSi). The presence of Escherichia coli in water and sediment (1000CFU/100mL – uncountable and 35–40CFUg⁻¹dw, respectively) evidenced microbial contamination in the study area. The relationships between the physicochemical parameters evaluated and the influence of the sewage discharge allow defining two different areas in the Rosales Harbor despite the proximity and the presence of microbial mats.