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Impact of Wastewater Release on the Faecal Contamination of a Small Urban River: The Zenne River in Brussels (Belgium)

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Abstract

In this study, we investigated the microbiological quality of the small urban Zenne River which flows through the city of Brussels (Belgium). The abundances of faecal indicator bacteria (FIB) (Escherichia coli and intestinal enterococci) revealed high levels of faecal contamination of the Zenne River, especially in Brussels area and downstream from this area where FIB were in the range of what is usually observed in secondary treated wastewaters. The origin of this faecal contamination is mainly attributed to the effluents of the two wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) located along the river in Brussels. Comparison of the present situation with the 1990s situation (before the implementation of Brussels WWTPs) showed a sharp improvement of the river microbiological quality. This improvement should however be regarded with care as it was also observed that, during rain events, combined sewer overflows (CSO) outfalls were responsible of a strong increase of faecal contamination in the river downstream from Brussels, and such CSO occur frequently in Brussels. Altogether, these results document the variations of the microbiological quality of a sewage-polluted urban river in relation with long-term changes (implementation of WWTP) and the short-term disturbances (CSO).

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Acknowledgments

This study was mainly performed in the scope of the GESZ research project (Towards the Good Ecological Status of River Zenne: Reevaluating Brussels wastewater management) from the “Impulse Environment 2008” programme of the Brussels Institute for Research and Innovation (Innoviris). A part of the work was also performed in the scope of the project “Tracing and Integrated Modelling of Natural and Anthropogenic effects on Hydrosystems” (TIMOTHY), an Interuniversity Attraction Pole (IAP6.13) funded by the Belgian Federal Science Policy Office (BELSPO). N.K. Ouattara benefits from doctoral grants from Ivory Coast Government and from “Fonds Van Buuren” (Université Libre de Bruxelles). The authors thank the Hydrologisch Informatiecentrum (HIC) for giving access to the Zenne River flow rates data, AQUIRIS for giving access to flow rates treated in Brussels North WWTP data and FLOWBRU for communicating discharges of CSO during studied rain events.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Ecologie des Systèmes Aquatiques, Université Libre de Bruxelles, Campus Plaine, CP 221, 1050, Brussels, Belgium

    Nouho Koffi Ouattara, Tamara Garcia-Armisen, Adriana Anzil & Pierre Servais

  2. Analytical and Environmental Chemistry, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Pleinlaan 2, 1050, Brussels, Belgium

    Natacha Brion

Authors
  1. Nouho Koffi Ouattara
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  2. Tamara Garcia-Armisen
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  3. Adriana Anzil
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  4. Natacha Brion
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  5. Pierre Servais
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Correspondence to Pierre Servais.

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Ouattara, N.K., Garcia-Armisen, T., Anzil, A. et al. Impact of Wastewater Release on the Faecal Contamination of a Small Urban River: The Zenne River in Brussels (Belgium). Water Air Soil Pollut 225, 2043 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11270-014-2043-5

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