Using a combination of quantitative culture, molecular, and infrastructure data to rank potential sources of fecal contamination in Town Creek Estuary, North Carolina.
Estuarine water quality is declining worldwide due to increased tourism, coastal development, and a changing climate. Although well-established methods are in place to monitor water quality, municipalities struggle to use the data to prioritize infrastructure for monitoring and repair and to determi...
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Public Library of Science (PLoS)
2024-01-01
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| Series: | PLoS ONE |
| Online Access: | https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0299254&type=printable |
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| author | Jenna M Hynes Rachelle E Beattie A Denene Blackwood Thomas Clerkin Javier Gallard-Góngora Rachel T Noble |
| author_facet | Jenna M Hynes Rachelle E Beattie A Denene Blackwood Thomas Clerkin Javier Gallard-Góngora Rachel T Noble |
| author_sort | Jenna M Hynes |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Estuarine water quality is declining worldwide due to increased tourism, coastal development, and a changing climate. Although well-established methods are in place to monitor water quality, municipalities struggle to use the data to prioritize infrastructure for monitoring and repair and to determine sources of contamination when they occur. The objective of this study was to assess water quality and prioritize sources of contamination within Town Creek Estuary (TCE), Beaufort, North Carolina, by combining culture, molecular, and geographic information systems (GIS) data into a novel contamination source ranking system. Water samples were collected from TCE at ten locations on eight sampling dates in Fall 2021 (n = 80). Microbiological water quality was assessed using US Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA) approved culture-based methods for fecal indicator bacteria (FIB), including analysis of total coliforms (TC), Escherichia coli (EC), and Enterococcus spp. (ENT). The quantitative microbial source tracking (qMST) human-associated fecal marker, HF183, was quantified using droplet digital PCR (ddPCR). This information was combined with environmental data and GIS information detailing proximal sewer, septic, and stormwater infrastructure to determine potential sources of fecal contamination in the estuary. Results indicated FIB concentrations were significantly and positively correlated with precipitation and increased throughout the estuary following rainfall events (p < 0.01). Sampling sites with FIB concentrations above the U.S. EPA threshold also had the highest percentages of aged, less durable piping materials. Using a novel ranking system combining concentrations of FIB, HF183, and sewer infrastructure data at each site, we found that the two sites nearest the most aged sewage infrastructure and stormwater outflows were found to have the highest levels of measurable fecal contamination. This case study supports the inclusion of both traditional water quality measurements and local infrastructure data to support the current need for municipalities to identify, prioritize, and remediate failing infrastructure. |
| format | Article |
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| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 1932-6203 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2024-01-01 |
| publisher | Public Library of Science (PLoS) |
| record_format | Article |
| series | PLoS ONE |
| spelling | doaj-art-827240e593c0459eb2d25bcdbb6a1ac92025-08-20T02:22:25ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032024-01-01194e029925410.1371/journal.pone.0299254Using a combination of quantitative culture, molecular, and infrastructure data to rank potential sources of fecal contamination in Town Creek Estuary, North Carolina.Jenna M HynesRachelle E BeattieA Denene BlackwoodThomas ClerkinJavier Gallard-GóngoraRachel T NobleEstuarine water quality is declining worldwide due to increased tourism, coastal development, and a changing climate. Although well-established methods are in place to monitor water quality, municipalities struggle to use the data to prioritize infrastructure for monitoring and repair and to determine sources of contamination when they occur. The objective of this study was to assess water quality and prioritize sources of contamination within Town Creek Estuary (TCE), Beaufort, North Carolina, by combining culture, molecular, and geographic information systems (GIS) data into a novel contamination source ranking system. Water samples were collected from TCE at ten locations on eight sampling dates in Fall 2021 (n = 80). Microbiological water quality was assessed using US Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA) approved culture-based methods for fecal indicator bacteria (FIB), including analysis of total coliforms (TC), Escherichia coli (EC), and Enterococcus spp. (ENT). The quantitative microbial source tracking (qMST) human-associated fecal marker, HF183, was quantified using droplet digital PCR (ddPCR). This information was combined with environmental data and GIS information detailing proximal sewer, septic, and stormwater infrastructure to determine potential sources of fecal contamination in the estuary. Results indicated FIB concentrations were significantly and positively correlated with precipitation and increased throughout the estuary following rainfall events (p < 0.01). Sampling sites with FIB concentrations above the U.S. EPA threshold also had the highest percentages of aged, less durable piping materials. Using a novel ranking system combining concentrations of FIB, HF183, and sewer infrastructure data at each site, we found that the two sites nearest the most aged sewage infrastructure and stormwater outflows were found to have the highest levels of measurable fecal contamination. This case study supports the inclusion of both traditional water quality measurements and local infrastructure data to support the current need for municipalities to identify, prioritize, and remediate failing infrastructure.https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0299254&type=printable |
| spellingShingle | Jenna M Hynes Rachelle E Beattie A Denene Blackwood Thomas Clerkin Javier Gallard-Góngora Rachel T Noble Using a combination of quantitative culture, molecular, and infrastructure data to rank potential sources of fecal contamination in Town Creek Estuary, North Carolina. PLoS ONE |
| title | Using a combination of quantitative culture, molecular, and infrastructure data to rank potential sources of fecal contamination in Town Creek Estuary, North Carolina. |
| title_full | Using a combination of quantitative culture, molecular, and infrastructure data to rank potential sources of fecal contamination in Town Creek Estuary, North Carolina. |
| title_fullStr | Using a combination of quantitative culture, molecular, and infrastructure data to rank potential sources of fecal contamination in Town Creek Estuary, North Carolina. |
| title_full_unstemmed | Using a combination of quantitative culture, molecular, and infrastructure data to rank potential sources of fecal contamination in Town Creek Estuary, North Carolina. |
| title_short | Using a combination of quantitative culture, molecular, and infrastructure data to rank potential sources of fecal contamination in Town Creek Estuary, North Carolina. |
| title_sort | using a combination of quantitative culture molecular and infrastructure data to rank potential sources of fecal contamination in town creek estuary north carolina |
| url | https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0299254&type=printable |
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