Bacteria Loads from Point and Nonpoint Sources in an Urban Watershed
Publication: Journal of Environmental Engineering
Volume 131, Issue 10
Abstract
A pathogen impaired watershed in Houston, Tex., was studied to assess the spatial and temporal nature of point and nonpoint bacterial load contributions. End-of-pipe sampling at wastewater treatment plant effluent and storm sewers discharging under dry weather conditions was undertaken. Relatively low concentrations of E. coli were found in wastewater treatment effluent, with a geometric mean of 5 MPN/dL, while dry weather storm sewer discharges exhibited a geometric mean concentration of 212 MPN/dL. Loads from both point and nonpoint sources of E. coli were calculated and compared to in-stream bacteria loads. Nonpoint loads were estimated using an event mean concentration approach on an annual basis. Nonpoint source (NPS) loads were the primary source of bacteria loading to the bayou. Wastewater treatment plant and dry weather storm sewer loads, however, dominated in dry weather conditions. While NPS loads remained relatively constant from headwaters to the mouth of the bayou, point source loads exhibited greater spatial variability depending on the distribution of the discharging pipes. The study points to the need for spatial and temporal considerations in managing bacterial pollution in streams.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
Acknowledgments
This work has been funded by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality and the Texas Advanced Technology Program. Their support is acknowledged and greatly appreciated.
References
Baird, C., Jennings, M., Ockerman, D., and Dybala, T. (1996). “Characterization of nonpoint sources and loadings to Corpus Christi Bay National Estuary Program Study Area.” CCBNEP-05, Corpus Christi Bay National Estuary Program, Corpus Christi, Tex.
Barrett, M. E., Irish, L. B., Malina, J. F., Charbeneau, R. J. (1998). “Characterization of highway runoff in Austin, Texas, area.” J. Environ. Eng., 124(2), 131–137.
Baudart, J., Grabulos, J., Barusseau, J.-P., and Lebaron, P. (2000). “Salmonella spp. and fecal coliform loads in coastal waters from point versus nonpoint source of pollution.” J. Environ. Qual., 29(1), 241–250.
Boehm, A. B., Fuhrman, J. A., Morse, R. D., and Grant, S. B. (2003). “Tiered approach for identification of a human fecal pollution source at a recreational beach: Case study at Avalon Bay, Catalina Island, California.” Environ. Sci. Technol., 37(4), 673–680.
Boehm, A. B., Grant, S. B., Kim, J. H., Mowbray, S. L., McGee, C. D., Clark, C. D., Foley, D. M., and Wellman, D. E., (2002). “Decadal and shorter period variability of surf zone water quality at Huntington Beach, California.” Environ. Sci. Technol., 36, 3885–3891.
Borst, M., and Selvakumar, A. (2003). “Particle-associated microorganisms in stormwater runoff.” Water Res., 37, 215–223.
Buckley, R., Warnken, W., Wild, C., and Clough, E. (1998). “Coliform bacteria in streambed sediments in a subtropical rainforest conservation reserve.” Water Resour., 32(6), 1852–1856.
Chandler, R. D. (1994). “Estimating annual urban nonpoint pollutant loads.” J. Manage. Eng., 10(6), 50–59.
Characklis, G. W., and Wiesner, M. R. (1997). “Particles, metals and water quality in runoff from large urban watersheds.” J. Environ. Eng., 123(8), 753–759.
Crabill, C., Donald, R., Snelling, J., Foust, R., and Southam, G. (1999). “Impact of sediment fecal coliform reservoirs on seasonal water quality in Oak Creek, Arizona.” Water Res., 33(9), 2163–2171.
Davies, C. M., Long, J. A. H., Donald, M., and Ashbolt, N. J. (1995). “Survival of fecal microorganisms in marine and freshwater sediments.” Appl. Environ. Microbiol., 61(5), 1888–1896.
Davis, E. M., Garrett, M. T., and Skinner, T. D. (1995). “Significance of indicator bacteria changes in an urban stream.” Water Sci. Technol., 31(5–6), 243–246.
Deletic, A. B., and Maksimovie, C. T. (1998). “Evaluation of water quality factors in storm runoff from paved areas.” J. Environ. Eng., 124(9), 869–879.
Desmarais, T. R., Solo-Gabriele, H. M., and Palmer, C. J. (2002). “Influence of soil on fecal indicator organisms in a tidally influenced subtropical environment.” Appl. Environ. Microbiol., 68(3), 1165–1172.
Drapper, D., Tomlinson, R., and Williams, P. (2000). “Pollutant concentrations in road runoff: Southeast Queensland case study.” J. Environ. Eng., 126(4), 313–320.
Elmund, K. G., Allen, M. J., and Rice, E. W. (1999). “Comparison of Escherichia coli, total coliform, and fecal coliform populations as indicators of wastewater treatment efficiency.” Water Environ. Res., 71(3), 332–339.
Erkenbrecher, C. W. (1981). “Sediment bacterial indicators in an urban shellfishing subestuary of the Lower Chesapeake Bay.” Appl. Environ. Microbiol., 44, 1144–1149.
Feeney, C. (1998). “Transport of fecal coliform in Barrington River estuary.” J. N. Engl. Water Works Assoc., 32(2), 170–195.
Fevre, N. M. L., and Lewis, G. D. (2003). “The role of resuspension in enterococci distribution in water at an urban beach.” Water Sci. Technol., 47(3), 205–210.
Gannon, J. J., and Busse, M. K. (1989). “E. coli and enterococci levels in urban stormwater, river water and chlorinated treatment plant effluent.” Water Resour., 23(9), 1167–1176.
Gerba, C. P., and McLeod, J. S. (1976). “Effects of sediments on the survival of Escherichia coli in marine waters.” Appl. Environ. Microbiol., 32, 114–120.
Grant, S. B., et al. (2001). “Generation of enterocooci bacteria in a coastal saltwater marsh and its impact on surf zone water quality.” Environ. Sci. Technol. 35(12), 2407–2416.
Haack, S. K., Fogarty, L. R., and Wright, C. (2003). “Escherichia coli and Enterococci at beaches in the Grand Traverse Bay, Lake Michigan: Sources, characteristics and environmental pathways.” Environ. Sci. Technol., 37(15), 3275–3282.
Hood, M. A., and Ness, G. E. (1982). “Survival of Vibro cholerae and Escherichia coli in estuarine waters and sediments.” Appl. Environ. Microbiol., 43, 578–584.
Hoos, A. B., Robinson, J. A., Aycock, R. A., Knight, R. R., and Woodside, M. D. (2000). “Sources, instream transport, and trends of nitrogen, phosphorous, and sediment in the lower Tennessee River Basin, 1980–1996.” WRI 99-4139, U.S. Geological Survey, Nashville, Tenn.
Irish, L. B. J., Barrett, M. E., Malina, J. J. F., and Charbeneau, R. J. (1998). “Use of regression models for analyzing highway stormwater loads.” J. Environ. Eng., 124(10), 987–993.
National Research Council (NRC). (2001). “Assessing the TMDL approach to water quality management.” National Academies Press, Washington, D.C., 122 pp.
Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS). (1986). “Urban hydrology for small watersheds.” TR-55, Washington, D.C.
Newell, C. J., Rifai, H. S., and Bedient, P. B. (1992). “Characterization of non-point sources and loadings to Galveston Bay.” GBNEP-15, Prepared for the Galveston Bay National Estuary Program, Houston.
Obiri-Danso, K., and Jones, K. (2000). “Intertidal sediments as reservoirs for Hippurate Negative Campylobacters, Salmonellae and fecal indicators in three recognized bathing waters in North West England.” Water Res., 34(2), 519–527.
Palmer, M. D. (2000). “Analyses of sediment bacteria monitoring data from two deep ocean raw wastewater outfalls, Victoria, BC.” Can. Water Resour. J., 25(1), 1–18.
Pettibone, G. W., Irvine, K. N., and Monahan, K. M. (1996). “Impact of a ship passage on bacteria levels and suspended sediment characteristics in the Buffalo River, New York.” Water Res., 30(10), 2517–2521.
Rockabrand, D., Austin, T., Kaiser, R., and Blum, P. (1999). “Bacterial growth state distinguished by single-cell protein profiling: Does chlorination kill coliforms in municipal effluent?” Appl. Environ. Microbiol., 65(9), 4181–4188.
Schiff, K., and Kinney, P. (2001). “Tracking sources of bacterial contamination in stormwater discharges to Mission Bay, California.” Water Environ. Res., 73(5), 534–542.
Schueler, T. R. (1987). “Controlling urban runoff: A practical manual for planning and designing urban BMPs.” Pub No. 87703, Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments, Washington, D.C.
Simpson, J. M., Santo-Domingo, J. W., and Reasoner, D. J. (2002). “Microbial source tracking: State of the science.” Environ. Sci. Technol., 36(24), 5279–5288.
Solo-Gabriele, H. M., Wolfert, M. A., Desmarais, T. R., and Palmer, C. J. (2000). “Sources of Escherichia coli in a coastal subtropical environment.” Appl. Environ. Microbiol., 66(1), 230–237.
Stephenson, G. R., and Rychert, R. C. (1982). “Bottom sediment: A reservoir of Escherichia coli in rangeland streams.” J. Range Manage., 35(1), 119–123.
Storm Water Management Joint Task Force. (2002). “Annual report for the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System.” Rep. period August 1, 2001–July 31, 2002, Department of Transportation, Houston.
United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA). (2000). “Bacterial indicator tool user’s guide.” EPA-832-B-01-003, Washington, D.C.
United States Geological Survey (USGS). (2000). Texas Southeast land cover data set (map), USGS, Sioux Falls, S.D.
Weiskel, P. K., Howes, B. L., and Heufleder, G. R. (1996). “Coliform contamination of coastal embayment: Sources and transport pathways.” Environ. Sci. Technol. 30(6), 1872–1881.
Whitlock, J. E., Jones, D. T., and Harwood, V. J. (2002). “Identification of the sources of fecal coliforms in an urban watershed using antibiotic resistance analysis.” Water Res., 35, 4273–4282.
Wong, K. M., Strecker, E. W., and Stenstrom, M. K. (1997). “GIS to estimate storm-water pollutant mass loadings.” J. Environ. Eng., 123(8), 737–745.
Wu, J. S., Allan, C. J., Saunders, W. L., and Evett, J. B. (1998). “Characterization and pollutant loading estimation for urban and rural highway runoff.” J. Environ. Eng., 124(7), 584–592.
Yakub, G. P., et al. (2002). “Evaluation of colilert and enterolert defined substrate methodology for wastewater applications.” Water Environ. Res., 74(2), 131–135.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Environmental Engineering
Volume 131 • Issue 10 • October 2005
Pages: 1414 - 1425
Copyright
© 2005 ASCE.
History
Received: Nov 11, 2003
Accepted: Feb 3, 2005
Published online: Oct 1, 2005
Published in print: Oct 2005
Authors
Metrics & Citations
Metrics
Citations
Download citation
If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download.