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This paper presents a developing tool to aid in watershed protection called microbial source tracking (MST). MST can be used to provide thescientific basis for identifying microbial input sources to raw drinking water. Once a source isidentified by MST methods, a water utility can develop and implement effective remedial actionsin a targeted manner without spending money and effort on "false" sources that may be indicatedthrough land use analysis or sanitary surveys alone. Many MST tools involve molecularanalyses; however, this study focused on tools which could be more easily and less expensivelyimplemented by watershed managers. An integrated assessment approach was applied to two watershed "hotspots." Sites were selectedbased on elevated fecal coliform counts enumerated during monitoring for regulatorycompliance. Land use analysis was used to identify the potential microbial contaminationsources, which included residential septic systems, agricultural animal operations,commercial/industrial operations and wildlife activity. Water samples were collected seasonally at each site and analyzed for a suite of water qualityparameters. The MST methods employed included sorbitol-fermenting Bifidobacteria andenterococci (indicators of human-related domestic wastewater), Rhodococcus coprophilus (anindicator of grazing animal waste), and male-specific RNA coliphage serotypes (that discriminate between human and non-human microbial inputs). Traditional water qualityparameters were also measured to assess the general extent of contamination. These includedconductivity, turbidity and fecal coliforms. Includes tables.

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Edition: Vol. - No. Published: 06/17/2005 Number of Pages: 2 File Size: 1 file , 390 KB