Development of an analytical microbial consortia method for enhancing performance monitoring at aerobic wastewater treatment plants.

An analytical method to produce profiles of bacterial biomass fatty acid methyl esters (FAME) was developed employing rapid agitation followed by static incubation (RASI) using selective media of wastewater microbial communities. The results were compiled to produce a unique library for comparison and performance analysis at a Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP). A total of 146 samples from the aerated WWTP, comprising 73 samples of each secondary and tertiary effluent, were included analyzed. For comparison purposes, all samples were evaluated via a similarity index (SI) with secondary effluents producing an SI of 0.88 with 2.7% variation and tertiary samples producing an SI 0.86 with 5.0% variation. The results also highlighted significant differences between the fatty acid profiles of the tertiary and secondary effluents indicating considerable shifts in the bacterial community profile between these treatment phases. The WWTP performance results using this method were highly replicable and reproducible indicating that the protocol has potential as a performance-monitoring tool for aerated WWTPs. The results quickly and accurately reflect shifts in dominant bacterial communities that result when processes operations and performance change.

An integrated multi-level watershed-reservoir modeling system for examining hydrological and biogeochemical processes in small prairie watersheds.

Eutrophication of small prairie reservoirs presents a major challenge in water quality management and has led to a need for predictive water quality modeling. Studies are lacking in effectively integrating watershed models and reservoir models to explore nutrient dynamics and eutrophication pattern. A water quality model specific to small prairie water bodies is also desired in order to highlight key biogeochemical processes with an acceptable degree of parameterization. This study presents a Multi-level Watershed-Reservoir Modeling System (MWRMS) to simulate hydrological and biogeochemical processes in small prairie watersheds. It integrated a watershed model, a hydrodynamic model and an eutrophication model into a flexible modeling framework. It can comprehensively describe hydrological and biogeochemical processes across different spatial scales and effectively deal with the special drainage structure of small prairie watersheds. As a key component of MWRMS, a three-dimensional Willows Reservoir Eutrophication Model (WREM) is developed to addresses essential biogeochemical processes in prairie reservoirs and to generate 3D distributions of various water quality constituents; with a modest degree of parameterization, WREM is able to meet the limit of data availability that often confronts the modeling practices in small watersheds. MWRMS was applied to the Assiniboia Watershed in southern Saskatchewan, Canada. Extensive efforts of field work and lab analysis were undertaken to support model calibration and validation. MWRMS demonstrated its ability to reproduce the observed watershed water yield, reservoir water levels and temperatures, and concentrations of several water constituents. Results showed that the aquatic systems in the Assiniboia Watershed were nitrogen-limited and sediment flux played a crucial role in reservoir nutrient budget and dynamics. MWRMS can provide a broad context of decision support for water resources management and water quality protection in the prairie region.

Bacteriological challenges to asbestos cement water distribution pipelines.

Asbestos cement (AC) pipes were commonly installed in the drinking water distribution systems from the mid 1920s to the late 1980s. In recent years, an increase in the number of water main breaks has occurred in the AC portions of some pipe networks, which can be partially attributed to the corrosion of the aged pipes. This study evaluated the potential role that microorganisms may have played in the degeneration and failure of AC pipes. In this study, a fresh AC pipe section was collected from the distribution network of the City of Regina, Canada and examined for microbiological activities and growth on inside surfaces of pipe sample. Black slime bacterial growths were found to be attached to inner pipe surfaces and a distinctively fibrous internal coating (patina) with iron oxides was formed over the time. The microbial populations inside the patina and the black slime were tested with BART testers. Heterotrophic aerobic bacteria (HAB) and slime forming bacteria (SLYM) dominated in both the black growths and inside the patina. Iron related bacteria, denitrification bacteria and sulfate reducing bacteria were also commonly present. Microbial challenge assays were conducted by submerging the cut segments of the AC pipe into selected bacterial cultures for a period of 10 days under both aerobic and anaerobic environments. Weight changes were determined and the surface morphology was examined for each of the assayed pipe segments. Results indicated that acid producing bacteria, SLYM and HAB could facilitate the pipe weight loss under anaerobicenvironments.

Evaluation of media for simultaneous enumeration of total coliform and Escherichia coli in drinking water supplies by membrane filtration techniques.

This study evaluated three different dehydrated media for simultaneous detection and enumeration of total coliform (TC) and Escherichia coli in drinking water samples with a standard membrane filtration procedure. The experiment indicated that the differential coliform agar (DCA) medium was the most effective among the tested media in enumerating TC and E. coli, without the need for extensive accompanying confirmation tests. The results for DCA medium were highly reproducible for both TC and E. coli with standard deviation of 6.0 and 6.1, respectively. A high agreement (82%) was found between DCA and m-Endo media on 152 drinking water samples in terms of TC positive. The DCA medium also reduced concealment of background bacteria.