A Dry Injection System for the Emplacement of Filter Packs and Annular Seals in Ground Water Monitoring Wells

The reliability of filter pack and annular seal emplacements, and the degree of integrity of installed seals, are two of the most important factors to be considered when both installing and later utilizing ground water monitoring wells.
Numerous, and often costly, problems of using existing methods of installing filter packs and annular seals during the construction of ground water monitoring wells have led to the development of a technique of installing these monitoring well components using a dry injection system.
The dry injection system has been used to construct monitoring wells in extremely complex overburden/bedrock environments with a variety of drilling techniques. The system has shown that a high degree of reliability in the, construction of monitoring wells and greater confidence in obtaining representative ground water samples can be achieved over existing methods of filter pack and annular seal emplacement. The system has also been more cost effective than existing methods, especially for deep boreholes and multilevel monitoring system installations.     

Distribution of enteric bacteria in Antarctic seawater surrounding the Port-aux-Français permanent station (Kerguelen Island)

Untreated sewage has been released from Port-aux Fran?ais station, Kerguelen Island, into the Southern Ocean for more than 50 years. We investigated the spatial distribution of faecal bacteria indicators during a one-year survey conducted in seawater off Morbihan Bay near the French permanent station of the Kerguelen Island (49 degrees 21(')S, 70 degrees 30(')E). Seawater samples were taken bimonthly from nine stations evenly distributed around the sewage outfalls of the station. Escherichia coli and enterococci were estimated using specific microplates (Miniaturized method for the enumeration of E. coli or enterococci in surface and waste waters, "MU/EC or MU/SF methods", BIO-RAD( Copyright)). In order to evaluate the role of seasonal changes of environmental parameters on the survival of enteric bacteria, total and saprophytic bacterial abundances were also estimated in all seawater samples. High densities of faecal bacteria (maximum 10(4) cells 100 ml(-1)) were found in seawater surrounding the sewage outfall. However, enteric bacterial counts decreased rapidly with increasing distance from the outfall. In all samples collected further than 2 km from the outfall, the bacterial indicators were absent or present in small numbers (<10 cells 100 ml(-1)). Faecal coliforms were not detected in samples collected at pristine sites located 10 km from Port-aux-Fran?ais. Despite these low contamination levels, faecal bacteria were always detected in the vicinity of the sewage outfall during the seasonal survey. The concentration of faecal bacteria may be related to the number of people inhabiting the station.     

Analysis of Endocrine Disrupting Steroids: Investigation of Their Release into the Environment and Their Behavior During Bank Filtration

A reliable and sensitive analytical method for the determination of estrone (E1), 17β-estradiol (E2), and the synthetic hormone 17α-ethinylestradiol (EE2) has been established. Samples are concentrated using automated solid-phase extraction and analysis is performed by liquid chromatography with detection by tandem mass spectrometry. Recoveries of all analytes were between 93% and 107%, and limits of quantification (LOQs) between 0.1 and 0.4 ng/L for purified sewage, and surface, ground, and drinking water, and between 1 and 2 ng/L in case of raw sewage. For the investigation of estrogen release into the environment and its behavior during sewage and surface water treatment, and during ground water recharge, samples from municipal waste water treatment plants (WWTPs), a surface water treatment plant, a bank filtration site, and a ground water enrichment (GWE) pond were analyzed. El was found in the raw waste water with an average concentration of 157 ng/L, whereas E2 and EE2 were found with mean concentrations of only 18 and 9 ng/L, respectively. Sewage treatment by municipal WWTPs affected a removal of EE2 (76%), El (92%), and E2 (94%). In the investigated surface water of Berlin, only E1 could be detected at concentrations around or below 1 ng/L. E2 and EE2 were not present in the Berlin surface water above the LOQ of 0.2 ng/L, respectively. Surface water treatment also leads to a significant removal of E1 (> 80%). In the ground water samples from the GWE site near Lake Tegel, only a few samples contained detectable concentrations of E1. These samples were collected from a shallow monitoring well located very close to the bank of the pond. Even a short distance between the bank and observation wells led to concentrations of El below the LOQ showing the potential of ground water recharge systems for the retention of estrogenic steroids depending on the environmental setting.     

Vorkommen natürlicher und synthetischer östrogener Steroide in Wässern des süd‐ und mitteldeutschen Raumes

Distribution of Natural and Synthetic Estrogenic Steroid Hormones in Water Samples from Southern and Middle Germany Natural and synthetic hormones can reach surface waters via domestic sewage effluents. For drinking water production, bank filtration of river waters is a common procedure and hormone contaminations can potentially reach groundwater levels and drinking water sources. In order to analyse steroid hormones in the different aquatic compartments (raw sewage and effluent, surface water, groundwater, raw and drinking water) of South and Middle Germany, a sensitive analytical method was developed and employed to detect the natural steroid hormones estradiol (E2) and estrone and the synthetic estrogen ethinylestradiol (EE2). Samples which were taken in two subsequent series were subjected to clean‐up and enrichment procedure and subsequently analysed by HPLC‐MS. The limit of quantitation for the method was determined to be 0.05 to 0.5 ng/L, depending on the matrix. By treating the samples with glucuronidases/arylsulfatases, conjugates were amenable to analysis and the sum of conjugates and unconjugated steroids was calculated. In raw sewage, the median of the concentrations of the unconjugated steroids was 7 ng/L for EE2, 1.5 ng/L for E2, and 5.5 ng/L for estrone. After cleavage of conjugates, the medians of total steroids were 9.5 ng/L (EE2), 3 ng/L (E2), and 13 ng/l (estrone). Conjugates therefore contributed up to 50 % of the total steroid concentration in raw sewage. In treated effluents, the concentrations of steroids were much lower than in the raw sewage. The medians of free steroids were determined to be 0.3 ng/L for EE2, 0.2 ng/L for E2, and 2.5 ng/L for estrone. Overall the medians in the effluent were thus less than 10% of those in the influent. Conjugates still contributed significantly (40% and more) to the steroid concentrations (medians: EE2: 0.5 ng/L, E2: 0.8 ng/L, and estrone: 8 ng/L).     

Population similarity analysis of indicator bacteria for source prediction of faecal pollution in a coastal lake

Biochemical fingerprinting (BF) databases of 524 enterococci and 571 Escherichia coli isolates and an antibiotic resistance analysis (ARA) database comprising of 380 E. coli isolates from four suspected sources (i.e. dogs, chickens, waterfowls, and human sewage) were developed to predict the sources of faecal pollution in a recreational coastal lake. Twenty water samples representing four sampling episodes were collected from five sites and the enterococci and E. coli population from each site were compared with those of the databases. The degree of similarity between bacterial populations was measured as population similarity (Sp) coefficient. Using the BF-database, bacterial populations of waterfowls showed the highest similarity with the water samples followed by a sewage treatment plant (STP). Higher population similarities were found between samples from STP and water samples especially at two sites (T2 and T3) which were located near the sewerage pipes collecting wastewater from the study area. When using the ARA-database, the highest similarity was found between E. coli populations from STP and water samples at sites T2 and T4. Both faecal indicators and as well as methods predicted human faecal pollution, possibly through leakage from submerged sewerage pipes. The results indicated that the Sp-analysis of faecal indicator bacterial populations from suspected sources and water samples can be used as a simple tool to predict the source(s) of faecal pollution in surface waters.     

Colonization by aerobic bacteria in karst: laboratory and in situ experiments

Experiments were carried out to investigate the potential for bacterial colonization of different substrates in karst aquifers and the nature of the colonizing bacteria. Laboratory batch experiments were performed using limestone and PVC as substrates, a natural bacterial isolate and a known laboratory strain (Escherichia coli [E. coli]) as inocula, and karst ground water and a synthetic formula as growth media. In parallel, fragments of limestone and granite were submerged in boreholes penetrating two karst aquifers for more than one year; the boreholes are periodically contaminated by enteric bacteria from waste water. Once a month, rock samples were removed and the colonizing bacteria quantified and identified. The batch experiments demonstrated that the natural isolate and E. coli both readily colonized limestone surfaces using karst ground water as the growth medium. In contrast, bacterial colonization of both the limestone and granite substrates, when submerged in the karst, was less intense. More than 300 bacterial strains were isolated over the period sampled, but no temporal pattern in colonization was seen as far as strain, and colonization by E. coli was notably absent, although strains of Salmonella and Citrobacter were each observed once. Samples suspended in boreholes penetrating highly fractured zones were less densely colonized than those in the borehole penetrating a less fractured zone. The results suggest that contamination of karst aquifers by enteric bacteria is unlikely to be persistent. We hypothesize that this may be a result of the high flow velocities found in karst conduits, and of predation of colonizing bacteria by autochthonous zooplankton.     

Field Studies on the Fate and Transport of Pharmaceutical Residues in Bank Filtration

Bank filtration and artificial ground water recharge are important, effective, and cheap techniques for surface water treatment and removal of microbes, as well as inorganic, and some organic, contaminants. Nevertheless, physical, chemical, and biological processes of the removal of impurities are not understood sufficiently. A research project titled Natural and Artificial Systems for Recharge and Infiltration attempts to provide more clarity in the processes affecting the removal of these contaminants. The project focuses on the fate and transport of selected emerging contaminants during bank filtration at two transects in Berlin, Germany. Several detections of pharmaceutically active compounds (PhACs) in ground water samples from bank filtration sites in Germany led to furthering research on the removal of these compounds during bank filtration. In this study, six PhACs including the analgesic drugs diclofenac and propyphenazone, the antiepileptic drugs carbamazepine and primidone, and the drug metabolites clofibric acid and 1-acetyl-1-methyl-2-dimethyl-oxamoyl-2-phenylhydrazide were found to leach from the contaminated streams and lakes into the ground water. These compounds were also detected at low concentrations in receiving public supply wells. Bank filtration either decreased the concentrations by dilution (e.g., for carbamazepine and primidone) and partial removal (e.g., for diclofenac), or totally removed PhACs (e.g., bezafibrate, indomethacine, antibiotics, and estrogens). Several PhACs, such as carbamazepine and especially primidone, were readily transported during bank filtration. They are thought to be good indicators for evaluating whether surface water is impacted by contamination from municipal sewage effluent or whether contamination associated with sewage effluent can be transported into ground water at ground water recharge sites.     

Chlorine Disinfection of Ground Water Obtained from 200M Deep Wells

The effect of chlorine concentration, ground water pH, and contact time on chlorine demand and the inactivation of coliform bacteria, Escherichia coli , was studied in the laboratory using a batch reactor under controlled environmental conditions. Ground water for this study was obtained from 200m deep wells in Bangkok, Thailand. The test results demonstrate that the kinetics of chlorine inactivation of coliforms in ground water consist of an initial rapid kill rate followed by a slower rate. Disinfection was more effective in acidic pH (5.5) than basic pH (8.5). Chlorine demand exerted by ground water increased with chlorine dose, contact time, and hydrogen ion concentration. Based on the applied chlorine dose, inactivation of E. coli by chlorine at neutral pH and room temperature was over two orders of magnitude less effective in ground water than in demand-free water. Because of the high chlorine demand exerted by this ground water, chlorine residuals leaving the treatment plant are likely to be unstable.     

Simultaneous Analysis of Natural Free Estrogens and Their Sulfate Conjugates in Wastewater

Natural estrogens from humans increasingly attract attention because of their strong endocrine disrupting potency. The discharge of sewage water is considered as the most important source of these endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) in the environment. Therefore, a GC‐MS method was developed for the simultaneous analysis of six natural free estrogens and their sulfate conjugates in municipal wastewater, in which natural free estrogens and sulfate conjugates were successfully separated from an Oasis HLB solid phase extraction (SPE) cartridge with two different eluents, and the sulfate conjugates were then transformed to their corresponding free estrogens by acid solvolysis. Before the analysis with GC‐MS, samples were derivatized by N,O‐bis (trimethylsilyl) trifluoroacetamide (BSTFA) plus 1% trimethylchlorosilane (TMCS) at 80°C for 40 min. Satisfactory recoveries ranging from 64 to 112.3% were obtained by spiking ultra‐purified water, raw, and treated municipal wastewater with the six estrogens at 50, 100, and 50 ng/L, respectively. The method was successfully applied to wastewater samples from one WWTP, which suggested that E1 was the dominant natural estrogens in effluent and E3‐3S was one of the conjugates possibly occurring in the effluent.     

Detection of enteroviruses near deep marine sewage outfalls

At the present time there are approximately 160 million gallons per day of municipal sewage being discharged into the waters off the southeastern coast of Florida. Present in these sewage effluents are human pathogenic viruses whose fate in marine waters is not completely understood. Virus surveillance in waters receiving domestic wastewater discharge has concentrated on estuarine areas where water quality and depth are significantly different from the deep marine outfalls. Using the membrane filter adsorption technique, viruses were detected in the vicinity of deep marine outfalls discharging both raw and chlorinated, secondarily treated sewage.     

Clostridium perfringens as a potential indicator for the presence of sewage solids in marine sediments

Marine sediment cores collected from several depths of water and distances from a California sewage outfall were tested to see if sediments influenced by sewage solids were a reservoir of enteric pathogens, and if concentrations of indicator bacteria were related to the presence of sewage solids. Vertical distributions of microorganisms in marine sediments were determined; there was a decrease of indicator bacteria with increasing sediment depth. Aeromonas was randomly isolated, but none of the enteric bacterial pathogens or viruses were detected. While classic indicator bacteria were of little value in predicting the presence of pathogens, or relative amounts of sewage solids, Clostridium perfringens may be a suitable indicator. Clostridium perfringens concentrations were not related to the presence of pathogens in sediments.     

Distribution of viral and bacterial pathogens in a coastal canal community

Significant concentrations of human enteric viruses and bacteria were found to be present in the water and sediment of a coastal canal community into which secondarily treated sewage was being discharged.     

Controls of Wellbore Flow Regimes on Pump Effluent Composition

Where well water and formation water are compositionally different or heterogeneous, pump effluent composition will vary due to partial mixing and transport induced by pumping. Investigating influences of purging and sampling methodology on composition variability requires quantification of wellbore flow regimes and mixing. As a basis for this quantification, analytical models simulating Poiseuille flow were developed to calculate flow paths and travel times. Finite element modeling was used to incorporate influences of mixing. Parabolic velocity distributions within the screened interval accelerate with cumulative inflow approaching the pump intake while an annulus of inflowing formation water contracts uniformly to displace an axial cylinder of pre‐pumping well water as pumping proceeds. Increased dispersive mixing forms a more diffuse formation water annulus and the contribution of formation water to pump effluent increases more rapidly. Models incorporating viscous flow and diffusion scale mixing show that initially pump effluent is predominantly pre‐pumping well water and compositions vary most rapidly. After two screen volumes of pumping, 94% of pump effluent is inflowing formation water. Where the composition of formation water and pre‐pumping well water are likely to be similar, pump effluent compositions will not vary significantly and may be collected during early purging or with passive sampling. However, where these compositions are expected to be considerably different or heterogeneous, compositions would be most variable during early pumping, that is, when samples are collected during low‐flow sampling. Purging of two screen volumes would be required to stabilize the content and collect a sample consisting of 94% formation water.     

Application of enterococci antibiotic resistance patterns for contamination source identification at Huntington Beach,California

Huntington Beach, California, one of the most popular surfing spots in the world, is plagued by sporadic, elevated levels of fecal bacteria. To assist with pollution source identification, we analyzed antibiotic resistance patterns (ARPs) of enterococci from four known sources (bird feces, urban runoff, coastal marsh sediment and sewage effluent from local sanitation district) and one unknown source (seawater) using seven antibiotics at four concentrations each. Of 2491 enterococci tested, all were resistant to at least one antibiotic at some level. Discriminant analysis indicated that the average correct classification rates for bird feces and urban runoff sources were above 80%. Sewage effluent contained mixed fecal sources. Sixty-four percent of the sewage isolates classified with the sewage category, while the other 35% of isolates were assigned evenly across the other three categories. When enterococci isolated from the seawater were classified using the known ARP database, it was evident that bird feces were the source of surf zone contamination on some days while the coastal salt marsh and sewage plume may have impacted the surf zone water quality to various degrees during other times.     

Evaluation of sewage source and fate on southeast Florida coastal reefs

Water, sponge and coral samples were collected from stations impacted by a variety of pollution sources and screened for human enteric viruses as conservative markers for human sewage. While human enteroviruses and adenoviruses were not detected, noroviruses (NoV; human genogroups I and II) were detected in 31% of samples (especially in sponge tissue). Stations near inlets were the only ones to show multiple sample types positive for NoV. Fecal indicator bacteria and enteric viruses were further evaluated at multiple inlet stations on an outgoing tide. Greatest indicator concentrations and highest prevalence of viruses were found at the mouth of the inlet and offshore in the inlet plume. Results suggest that inlets moving large volumes of water into the coastal zone with tides may be an important source of fecal contaminants. Efforts to reduce run-off or unintended release of water into the Intracoastal Waterway may lower contaminants entering sensitive coastal areas.     

Microbiological and physicochemical analysis of the coastal waters of southern Brazil

The aim of this study was to assess the impact of sewage discharge on coastal waters by evaluating the influence of physicochemical parameters on the presence of enteric microorganisms in seawater samples collected from 11 beaches in Florianopolis, Santa Catarina, Brazil, over a one-year period (August 2009 to July 2010). Samples were assessed for the presence of human adenoviruses (HAdV), polyomavirus (JCPyV), hepatitis A virus (HAV), and noroviruses (HuNoV GI and GII). Escherichia coli and physicochemical parameters (salinity, temperature, pH and dissolved oxygen) were also evaluated. From the 132 samples analyzed, 55% were positive for HAdV, 51.5% for HAV, 7.5% for HuNoV GI, 4.5% for HuNoV GII, and 3% for JCPyV. E. coli levels ranged from 8 to 1325 CFU/100mL at all sites. The overall results highlight the problem of sewage discharge into coastal waters and confirm that there is no correlation between viral presence and bacterial contamination.     

Analysis of multiple enteric viral targets as sewage markers in coral reefs

Water and coral mucus samples were collected from throughout the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary and the Dry Tortugas for three years and were analyzed for human enteric viruses (enteroviruses, noroviruses, hepatitis A virus and adenoviruses) as conservative markers of human sewage using molecular methods. Of the 100 coral and water samples collected, 40 contained genetic material from one or more human enteric viruses. DNA-based adenoviruses were detected widely, in 37.8% of samples and at 91% of stations, including ‘pristine’ reefs in the Dry Tortugas; however, the detection rate was 12% for the RNA-based enteroviruses and noroviruses (hepatitis A virus was never detected). The disparity between the prevalence of RNA- and DNA-based viruses suggests the need for additional work to determine the utility of adenovirus as marker of human sewage.     

A New Pumping Strategy for Petroleum Product Recovery from Contaminated Hydrogeologic Systems: Laboratory and Field Evaluations

More than 200,000 gallons of automatic transmission fluid (ATF) leaked from an underground storage tank system and contaminated an area of about 64,000 ft² of a soil and ground water system. A pumping strategy for improved drainage and recovery of free oil was developed, tested in a laboratory model aquifer, and implemented and evaluated at the field site. This pumping strategy differs from conventional approaches in two important ways: (1) The oil recovery rate is carefully controlled to maximize the pumping rate while maintaining continuity between the oil layer in the soil and the recovery well, to avoid isolation of the oil in the subsurface; and (2) The rate of ground water pumping is controlled to maintain the depressed oil/water interface at its prepumped position. This approach prevents further spread of oil into the ground water, prevents reduction in the volume of recoverable oil due to residual retention, and maintains a gradient for oil flow toward the recovery well. In a model aquifer study, nearly 100 percent of the recoverable volume of ATF was pumped from the system, and about 56,000 gallons of the ATF has been recovered from the field site.     

成都府河水体细菌动态变化及耐药性

将府河从都江堰宝瓶口段至望江公园段分设9个监测点,在秋冬、春夏两季分别取水,首次建立由细菌总数、总大肠菌群数及粪大肠菌群数三个微生物学指标组成的体系,对府河两季水质进行对比监测分析,以综合评价水质、分析季节影响因素并反映出污染物来源.以都江堰宝瓶口大肠杆菌耐药率作为背景值,对整个河段的9个采样点分离纯化鉴定得到102株大肠杆菌,用K-B法进行对比药敏试验.结果表明,府河从都江堰段起,穿过成都市区后,至望江公园段细菌总数、大肠菌群数及粪大肠菌群数虽有波动,但细菌总数总体呈增加趋势,春夏季府河营养富集,水质有所降低.府河中大肠杆菌耐药性较小,β-内酰胺类耐药率在0.96％～33.33％之间,氨基糖苷类1.39％～7.84％,氟喹诺酮类11.43％～11.76％,磺胺类复方新诺明为52.78％,其中β-内酰胺类耐药性、氟喹诺酮类耐药性与源头水质有关,其余与医疗机构排放的废水及生活污水有关,此研究为控制成都府河水体中的污染防控提供了理论依据.     

The significance of dilution in evaluating possible impacts of wastewater discharges from large cruise ships

In response to public concerns about discharges from large cruise ships, Alaska's Department of Environmental Conservation (ADEC) sampled numerous effluents in the summer of 2000. The data showed that basic marine sanitation device (MSD) technology for black water (sewage) was not performing as expected. Untreated gray water had high levels of conventional pollutants and surprisingly high levels of bacteria. Both black water and gray water discharges sometimes exceeded state water quality standards for toxicants. The state convened a Science Advisory Panel (the Panel) to evaluate impacts associated with cruise ship wastewater discharges. The effluent data received wide media coverage and increased public concerns. Consequently, legislative decisions were made at the State and Federal level, and regulations were imposed before the Panel completed its evaluation. The Panel demonstrated that following the rapid dilution from moving cruise ships, the effluent data from the Summer of 2000 would not have exceeded water quality standards, and environmental effects were not expected.