Characterisation of Indicator Organisms and Pathogens in Domestic Greywater for Recycling

Greywater from baths, showers and washbasins was collected separately from all other domestic wastewater at a university block of flats with a dual reticulation system and analysed for a range of contaminants including indicator organisms and pathogens. Greywater flow and temperature were also monit...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Environmental monitoring and assessment 2007-06, Vol.129 (1-3), p.61-69
Main Authors: Birks, R, Hills, S
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animals
Assessments
Baths
Biodegradation
Biological treatment
Contaminants
Contamination
Cryptosporidium
Cryptosporidium - isolation & purification
Disinfection
Diurnal variations
Domestic
Domestic wastewater
E coli
Enterobacteriaceae - isolation & purification
Enteroviruses
Environmental monitoring
Environmental science
Escherichia coli
Family Characteristics
Giardia
Greywater
Indicator organisms
Indicator species
Legionella
microbiology
Organisms
Pathogens
R&D
Recycling
Research & development
Reuse
Salmonella
Sedimentation tanks
Storage tanks
Studies
United Kingdom
Wastewater
Water Microbiology
Water Pollutants - isolation & purification
Water quality
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Greywater from baths, showers and washbasins was collected separately from all other domestic wastewater at a university block of flats with a dual reticulation system and analysed for a range of contaminants including indicator organisms and pathogens. Greywater flow and temperature were also monitored and a diurnal variation was observed. Physical and chemical water quality parameters were similar to previously published data, although measured COD and BOD levels appeared to be lower, possibly due to settlement or biodegradation in the storage tanks. Plate counts and indicator organism concentrations were consistently high suggesting a high level of human bacterial contamination necessitating biological treatment and disinfection if the water is to be used for recycling. However, these high levels of indicator organisms did not correlate to pathogen presence and should not be used as pathogen indicators in greywater. One positive count of Salmonella veltereden was observed as well as low levels of Giardia. Cryptosporidium, Escherichia coli O157:H7, enteroviruses and Legionella were not identified in any of the samples. The research also highlighted a number of problems with the complexity of this type of sampling programme, such as identifying the most likely time to isolate pathogens and analysing an 'unusual' water source.
ISSN:0167-6369
1573-2959
DOI:10.1007/s10661-006-9427-y