Partitioning and Transport Behavior of Pathogen Indicator Organisms at Four Cold Region Solid Waste Sites

Abstract

AbstractFreshwater resources in rural Alaska communities, especially those underlain by permafrost, are particularly vulnerable to impacts from nearby waste facilities. The authors investigated the connection between rural solid waste facilities and transmission of pathogenic organisms into nearby water resources by evaluating the (1) prevalence of pathogen indicators E. coli and Enterococcus sp. proximal to cold region waste facilities, and (2) partitioning behavior of both organisms in a controlled snowmelt lysimeter test. Results reveal that E. coli and Enterococcus sp. preferentially attach to and migrate with soil particles in surface waters and are transported off-site during snowmelt runoff. Enterococcus sp. had higher and more sustained viability in cold environmental conditions than E. coli. E. coli and Enterococcus sp. were found in surface waters and soils in the concentration range of 0.7–3.5 mean log most probably number (MPN)/100 mL H2O. All microbial samples indicated strong site-specific ...