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Presence of microbial and chemical source tracking markers in roof-harvested rainwater and catchment systems for the detection of fecal contamination

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Abstract

Microbial source tracking (MST) and chemical source tracking (CST) markers were utilized to identify fecal contamination in harvested rainwater and gutter debris samples. Throughout the sampling period, Bacteroides HF183 was detected in 57.5 % of the tank water samples and 95 % of the gutter debris samples, while adenovirus was detected in 42.5 and 52.5 % of the tank water and gutter debris samples, respectively. Human adenovirus was then detected at levels ranging from below the detection limit to 316 and 1253 genome copies/μL in the tank water and debris samples, respectively. Results for the CST markers showed that salicylic acid (average 4.62 μg/L) was the most prevalent marker (100 %) in the gutter debris samples, caffeine (average 18.0 μg/L) was the most prevalent in the tank water samples (100 %) and acetaminophen was detected sporadically throughout the study period. Bacteroides HF183 and salicylic acid (95 %) and Bacteroides HF183 and caffeine (80 %) yielded high concurrence frequencies in the gutter debris samples. In addition, the highest concurrence frequency in the tank water samples was observed for Bacteroides HF183 and caffeine (60 %). The current study thus indicates that Bacteroides HF183, salicylic acid and caffeine may potentially be applied as source tracking markers in rainwater catchment systems in order to supplement fecal indicator analyses.

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Acknowledgments

The authors would like to acknowledge the following individuals and institutions for their contribution to this project:

• The financial assistance of the National Research Foundation (NRF) (Grant Number: 90320) towards this research is hereby acknowledged. Opinions expressed and conclusions arrived at, are those of the authors and are not necessarily be attributed to the NRF.

• The South African Weather Services for providing the rainfall and ambient temperature data for the sampling period.

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  1. Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Science, Stellenbosch University, Private Bag X1, Stellenbosch, 7602, South Africa

    M. Waso, T. Ndlovu, P. H. Dobrowsky & W. Khan

  2. Department of Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Health and Wellness Sciences, Cape Peninsula University of Technology, P.O. Box 1906, Bellville, 7535, South Africa

    S. Khan

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  1. M. Waso
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Correspondence to W. Khan.

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WK conceived and designed the experiments. MW performed the experiments. MW, SK, and WK analyzed the data. SK and WK contributed reagents/materials/analysis tools. MW, TN, PHD, and WK wrote the paper. TN and PHD co-supervised protocols in the laboratory.

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Waso, M., Ndlovu, T., Dobrowsky, P.H. et al. Presence of microbial and chemical source tracking markers in roof-harvested rainwater and catchment systems for the detection of fecal contamination. Environ Sci Pollut Res 23, 16987–17001 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-016-6895-7

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