Contrasting Water Quality and Health Issues in Rural and Urban Communities

nacaa2007 Joan B. Rose

Michigan State University

rosejo@msu.edu

Water Connection Between Human Health and the Environment

WATER

Oceans

StreamsRiversFOOD

Produce

PorkFish

Poultry

Beef

HUMAN HEALTH

Elderly Children

Immuno-compromised

Agricultural Runoff

HandlingPreparation

Consumption

Irrigation

Fertilization

Animal & Human Feces

Recreational& Drinking

Water

Lakes

GroundWater

HealthCare

Water in the Urban vs the Rural Areas

• URBAN (point sources)• Wastewater treatment

systems with larger flows• Combined Sewer

Overflows• Aging Infrastructure, spills • Community Water• Tourism focus at coastal

areas

• RURAL (diffuse)• Septic tanks; Smaller

wastewater plants & lagoon systems

• Animal manure & Biosolids application

• Groundwater & Individual wells• Less monitoring & less

information on water quality• Source of food supply

SAFE DRINKING WATER ACT ISSUES

• New Rules: Ground water Rule,

• Long-Term Enhanced Surface Water Treatment Rule

• Watershed Protection.

• Sensitive Populations.

• Contaminant Candidate List.

CLEAN WATER ACT • Fishable/ Swimmable• Biological/chemical/Physical Integrity• NPDES Discharge permitting system

(wastewater and stormwater) CSOs, SSOs• BEACH ACT• Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL)• Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations

(CAFO)• Water Quality Protection Plans

A few definitions…

•Pathogen = microbial agent causing disease

•Enteric pathogen = agent causing intestinal disease; EXCRETED IN THE FECES

• Zoonotic pathogen = a pathogen of animals that can infect humans

SLIDE PROVIDED BY DR. JEANETTE THURSTON, ARS, NEBRASKA

Pathogens of Concern

Viruses Bacteria Parasites

THE DISEASES: diarrhea, respiratory illness, liver damage, kidney failure, heart disease, cancer, nervous system disorders; birth defects, death.

E.coli• One measure of water quality is the

numbers of the fecal indicator organism E.coli ,a harmless bacterium found in the gut of humans and animals including birds.

• Presence indicates the possible presence of pathogens.

• Pathogens cause disease (from water due to ingestion or inhalation)

• Special types of E.coli are “true pathogens” like E.coli 0157H7

Sources of E.coli and Pathogens

Agricultural run-off

Animal farming operations

Waste water/Sewage

treatment Septic systems

Combined Sewer Overflow

Wildlife

Recreational Irrigation Drinking

Water Sources That Can Be Threatened

By Fecal-borne Pathogens

Seafood

SLIDE PROVIDED BY DR. JEANETTE THURSTON, ARS, NEBRASKA

Manure-Borne Pathogens that May Threaten U.S. Water Supplies

Protozoan Parasites

Enteric Viruses?Other Pathogens

Bacteria

Antibiotic Resistance

MicrosporidiaSLIDE PROVIDED BY DR. JEANETTE THURSTON, ARS, NEBRASKA

Zoonotic Pathogens

BACTERIA• Campylobacter• E.coli• SalmonellaPARASITES• Cryptosporidium• Giardia

Life Cycle of Cryptosporidium

Host ingests oocyst

Animal reservoir

C. parvum

Obligate intracellular parasite

C. hominus restrictive to human to human transfer

The Emergence of Cryptosporidium

• As a pathogen– 1908 - 1st description of organism in mice– 1976 - 1st report of infection & illness in

humans

• As a waterborne pathogen – 1984 - 1st waterborne outbreak, Braun

Station, TX, 47 cases; warning re: Cryptosporidium at WQTC

– 1987 - Carrollton, GA waterborne outbreak, 13,000 cases

– 1993 - Milwaukee, WI waterborne outbreak, >400,000 cases; AIDS mortality = ~70%

• As a Foodborne Pathogen– 1993 - 1st foodborne outbreak, in apple

cider

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WATERBORNE OUTBREAKS IN THE U.S.

Recreational Outbreaks in Ambient Waters

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Agricultural Environments

SLIDE PROVIDED BY DR. JEANETTE THURSTON, ARS, NEBRASKA

Ground Water Environment

Ground water occurs in the rocks beneath us. The types of rocks determine how protected the water is from human activities. Images from USGS Circular 1139 --http://pubs.usgs.gov/circ/circ1139/index.html

Virus contamination of ground and surface water

E. Coli casts shadow over public beaches

E. Coli casts shadow over public beaches

St. Clair, Sanilac monitor health threat

St. Clair, Sanilac monitor health threat

Groundwater Risks Lessons Learned Walkerton, Ontario Outbreak (occurred In small communityUsing Ground water).

Source: Application ofAnimal Waste/Manure ?

Monitoring and Disinfection not addressed.

2300 CASES7 DEATHS27 CASES of HUS

5 years later community still suffering.

• FDA Home Page | CFSAN Home | Search/Subject Index | Q & A | Help

• September 16, 2006; Updated October 20, 2006 • Nationwide E. Coli O157:H7 Outbreak: Questions &

Answers

• FDA and the State of California announced October 12 that the test results for certain samples collected during the field investigation of the outbreak of E. coli O157:H7 in spinach are positive for E. coli O157:H7. Specifically, samples of cattle feces on one of the implicated ranches tested positive based on matching genetic fingerprints for the same strain of E. coli O157:H7 that sickened 204 people.

1. What do you think are the most significant challenges we are currently facing in regard to food safety/ and or water safety?

2.  What are the new tools and techniques that could assist us in meeting  these challenges?

3.  What should we be doing right now in regard to monitoring and reporting?

 

WATER QUALITY & HEALTHWhat do you think are the most significant challenges in regard to food safety/ and or water safety?

There are numerous emerging pathogens and issues and there is a lack of scientific information regarding sources, occurrence, transport, and survival/persistence. Thus lack of scientific knowledge is a severe impediment to informed choices and management strategies.

We should be monitoring and reporting water quality in a risk framework

 

Enteric Pathogens:Contributing Factors for

Environmental Persistence and Transmission

• High numbers shed in feces• Increased survival• Low infectious dose• Increased resistance to

disinfection/treatment• Multiple routes of

transmission• Cause Animal and human

infectionsSLIDE PROVIDED BY DR. JEANETTE THURSTON, ARS, NEBRASKA

 

What are the new tools and techniques that could assist us in meeting  these challenges?

• VIRUSES & PATHOGEN TESTING• INDICATORS & SOURCE

TRACKING

• TRACER STUDIES

What is PCR?

• Enzymatic reaction that makes many copies of DNA from single molecule

• 2n copies of DNA from single molecule where n = No. of cycles

• So, 35 cycles of PCR would yield 235 copies of DNA

RESULTS in WASTEWATER

Sample IFA Oocysts/100 L PCR Result Species/Genotype

1 4 8 - -

2 107 209 + C. parvum genotype 2

3 5 61 - -

4 5 10 - -

5 83 162 + C. parvum genotype 2

6 151 319 + C. parvum genotypes 1 and 2

7 26 55 - -

8 3 6 - -

9 2 8 - -

10 40 120 + C. parvum genotypes 1 and 2

11 26 53 + C. parvum genotypes 1 and 2

12 26 104 + C. parvum genotype 2

Cryptosporidium in Michigan Waters

• Red Cedar in E. Lansing• Levels 21.5 oocysts/100L

         11.0 oocysts/100L         6.0 oocysts/100L

• Level in Farm Ditches/Drain Fields– 3 to 5,990 oocysts/100L– 132 infectious oocysts/100L

• Levels in the Grand River– 1 to 50 oocysts/100L

#Y#Y

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Hillsdale and Lenawee Counties Crypto Sampling Locations

Hill

sdal

e C

ount

y Lanawee C

ounty

Bear Creek at Morse Black Creek at Crockett

Stoney Creek at Seneca

Rice Lake Drain

Bear Creek at Medina

VHI Stormwater

Culvert at Tamarack

St. JoeCreek at Beecher

WolfCreek at Forrister

M-34

Adrian

M-52

US 223

M-50

Morenci

Hudson

Crypto in Michigan Waters

Cryptosporidium was found in 11 surface water sites near CAFO farms which may have been the source of the oocysts. The site with the highest detected level of Cryptosporidium was at the white tile that drains into Rice Lake Drain near the Haley Road crossing with levels as high as 5990 oocysts per 10L. Giardia was detected at 8 of the surface water sites. Viable and infectious oocysts were also detected. High levels of E.coli bacteria were reported as well.

C. Andersonii & C. parvum were most frequently identified genetically, but C. hominus was also found.

Microbial Source Tracking•Tools are now available to determine the molecular fingerprint of the fecal pollution.•Health risks•Remediation•Prioritization•Responsibility

Microbial Source Tracking (MST)

• Indicator bacteria doesn’t provide source of pollution

• Track sources of fecal contamination in water

• MST can be library dependent

or library independent

Culture vs nonculture

• Culture dependent methods target viable organisms only

• Non- culture methods target both viable and non viable cells

Host specific

• Host specific method is library independent• For Library-dependent, DNA libraries are built

using isolates from animals & human sources in the area

• Using these libraries to match to the unknown environmental sample

• Host specific method requires no library, the marker is specific to the host

Most Promising tools are microbial host-specific markers

Proteobacteria

A. ESP in EnterococciFor human sewage detection

B. Adenoviruses, distinguishesHuman from Cow

C. Bacteroides Bacteria: human and cow systems being tested and a bird marker may be available soon

Tracer Study: impact of sewage release at the beach

Study Area

Grand Rapids

Lak

e M

ich

iga

n

Grand Haven

Grand River

Materials and Methods

• Injection of biological tracer(PRD-1) and chemical tracer (rhodamine wt dye) ~ 2 km upstream of USGS gauge in Grand Rapids, MI

• 8 sampling points from

3 bridges downstream Sampling stations

Distance from injection site

(km)

Wealthy St. Bridge 4.54

28th St. Bridge 13.56

Lake Michigan Dr Bridge 27.88

PRD-1

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Time after injection (hr)

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TRACER: Distance: 17 MILES

Time: 16 hoursTravel Speed: 1.06 miles per hour

Up to 2 days to reach the beachViruses reduced 99.99%

Holding Pond

Surface Water

Groundwater

Aerosol Transport & Deposition

Manure storage

Land Application

Well head impacts

Direct Deposition

Runoff Runoff

SLIDE PROVIDED BY DR. JEANETTE THURSTON, ARS, NEBRASKA

Application0.5 to0.8 gallonsPer sq feet

Virus Tracer per sq ft170 million

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Preliminary data: occurrence of Tracer in the monitoring of the tile drain

NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES RISK ASSESSMENT PARADIGM

HAZARD IDENTIFICATION Types of microorganisms and disease end-points

DOSE-RESPONSE Human feeding studies, clinical studies, less virulent microbes and health adults

EXPOSURE Monitoring data, indicators and modeling used to address exposure

RISK CHARACTERIZATION Magnitude of the risk, uncertainty and variability

RISK CHARACTERIZATION

CHARACTERIZATION

WATER quality Reporting Human & animal diseases.

ANALYSIS

PROBLEM FORMULATION

RISK MANAGEMENT OPTIONS

RESEARCH NEEDS

HAZARD IDENTIFICATION Types of pathogens in various sources.

Define manure as a beneficial product with targeted levels of pathogen reduction associated with processing of animal waste, verified through monitoring.

EXPOSURE Monitoring data, indicators and modeling used to address exposure, from farms to water ways, septic tank impacts and sewage spills and effluent discharges.

Thank You!

Any Questions??