Hi all…in the first paper of its kind that I’m aware of, a comprehensive study to assess the presence and removal of viruses through a full-scale municipal wastewater treatment plant in Canada has been published. The authors report that “Seven viruses including Norovirus, Rotavirus , Sapovirus, Astrovirus, Adenovirus, Enterovirus, and JC virus were detected in 16 primary effluents in which infectious viruses were present. Different treatment steps showed various efficiencies in virus removal, with membrane ultrafiltration as the most effective at 4.6–7.0 log reduction.”
The findings are important from the perspective of confirming the presence of some viruses which I believe had not previously been isolated from Canadian wastewater. Knowing that the viruses are present and which wastewater treatment processes are effective provides drinking water professionals with an idea of which viruses may be locally present (taking into account WW treatment process effectiveness) and, with some accounting for dilution in a receiving water, a rough estimate of what concentrations could be present in their source water.
Bill
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Assessment of human virus removal during municipal wastewater treatment in Edmonton, Canada
- Qiu, B.E. Lee, N. Neumann, N. Ashbolt, S. Craik, R. Maal-Bared and X.L. Pang
Journal of Applied Microbiology 119, 1729–1739 © December 2015
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/wol1/doi/10.1111/jam.12971/abstract
Abstract
“Aims: To assess the removal of viruses through the multiple steps of wastewater treatment in a full-scale municipal wastewater treatment plant in Alberta, Canada.
Methods and Results: Samples were collected after each of the five treatment steps for a period of 16 months. The amount of viruses and their infectivity were analysed using real-time quantitative PCR (qPCR) and integrated viral cell culture (ICC), respectively. Bacterial indicator Escherichia coli was also tested using membrane filtration. Seven viruses including Norovirus (NoV), Rotavirus (RV), Sapovirus (SaV), Astrovirus (AsV), Adenovirus (AdV), Enterovirus (EV) and JC virus (JCV) were detected in 16 primary effluents in which infectious viruses were present. Different treatment steps showed various efficiencies in virus removal, with membrane ultrafiltration as the most effective at 4.6–7.0 log reduction.
Conclusions: We observed high prevalence of viruses in raw wastewater and different viral reduction after various treatment steps. The discharge of treated wastewater with infectious viruses represents potential risks to human, animal and environmental health.
Significance and Impact of the Study: This study provides a comprehensive assessment of the removal of NoV, RV, SaV, AsV, AdV, EV, JCV and Reovirus from wastewater by current procedures of municipal wastewater treatment and discusses the applicability of various viruses as viral indicators for water quality.”
