Relating Watershed Characteristics to Elevated Stream Escherichia coli Levels in Agriculturally Dominated Landscapes: An Iowa Case Study

Fecal Indicator Bacteria (FIB) such as Escherichia coli (E. coli) are a leading cause of surface water impairments in the United States. However, the relative impacts of different watershed characteristics on microbial water quality in agriculturally dominated watersheds are unclear. Spatial and statistical analyses were utilized to examine relationships between watershed characteristics and FIB and a multiple regression model was created. Geometric mean E. coli concentration data were obtained for 395 ambient water quality monitoring locations in Iowa. Watersheds were delineated for thirty randomly selected monitoring locations and drainage areas ranged from 93 to 1.1 million hectares. Watershed characteristics examined include area, presence of animal units (open feed lots and confinements), percent of watershed area receiving manure application, presence of point-source discharges, and land cover. The results from the analyses reveal that the presence of animal feeding operations and agriculture, wetland, and woody vegetation land covers are the most influential watershed characteristics regarding E. coli concentration. A significant positive correlation was identified between E. coli concentration and agriculture while significant negative correlations were identified with animal feeding operations and wetland and woody vegetation. Establishing relationships between watershed characteristics and presence of E. coli is needed to identify dominant watershed characteristics contributing to pathogen water impairments and to prioritize remediation efforts

Assessing Linkages between E. coli Levels in Streambed Sediment and Overlying Water in an Agricultural Watershed in Iowa during the First Heavy Rain Event of the Season

This study involved field observations in Squaw Creek watershed, located in central Iowa, to investigate the impact of a heavy rain event (rainfall of 71 mm in 24 h) on E. coli levels in the streambed sediment and overlying water. We assessed relationships between streamflow and E. coli and nutrient levels in the water column and streambed sediment. The results showed that during a heavy rain event, E. coli levels in the water column varied considerably, ranging from 360 to 37,553 CFU per 100 mL with a mean of 7,598 CFU per 100 mL. Elevated streamflow resulted in greater levels of E. coli in the water column. Streambed sediment E. coli levels ranged from 896 to 6,577 CFU per 100 g with a mean of 3,355 CFU per 100 g. Regression analysis found exponential relationships between streamflow and E. coli levels in the water column (R2 = 0.56) and between streamflow and E. coli levels in the streambed sediment (R2 = 0.45). R2 values of the exponential relationship between streamflow and water column E. coli levels increased considerably when regressions for the rising and falling limbs of the hydrograph were performed separately (R2 = 0.64 and 0.94, respectively). The exponential relationship between total suspended solids (TSS) and water column E. coli levels yielded an R2 of 0.38, while TSS and streamflow yielded an exponential relationship with an R2 of 0.64. The results presented here provide information on in-stream bacteria dynamics of an agricultural watershed during the first heavy rain of the season. We anticipate that the results will improve the understanding of in-stream E. coli transport during rain events and provide insight for policy makers to allocate E. coli loads in impaired water bodies

Escherichia coli inactivation kinetics in anaerobic digestion of dairy manure under moderate, mesophilic and thermophilic temperatures

Batch anaerobic digestion experiments using dairy manure as feedstocks were performed at moderate (25°C), mesophilic (37°C), and thermophilic (52.5°C) temperatures to understand E. coli, an indicator organism for pathogens, inactivation in dairy manure. Incubation periods at 25, 37, and 52.5°C, were 61, 41, and 28 days respectively. Results were used to develop models for predicting E. coli inactivation and survival in anaerobic digestion. For modeling we used the decay of E. coli at each temperature to calculate the first-order inactivation rate coefficients, and these rates were used to formulate the time - temperature - E. coli survival relationships. We found the inactivation rate coefficient at 52.5°C was 17 and 15 times larger than the inactivation rate coefficients at 25 and 37°C, respectively. Decimal reduction times (D10 ; time to achieve one log removal) at 25, 37, and 52.5°C, were 9 -10, 7 - 8 days, and \u3c 1 day, respectively. The Arrhenius correlation between inactivation rate coefficients and temperatures over the range 25 -52.5°C was developed to understand the impacts of temperature on E. coli inactivation rate. Using this correlation, the time - temperature - E. coli survival relationships were derived. Besides E. coli inactivation, impacts of temperature on biogas production, methane content, pH change, ORP, and solid reduction were also studied. At higher temperatures, biogas production and methane content was greater than that at low temperatures. While at thermophilic temperature pH was increased, at mesophilic and moderate temperatures pH were reduced over the incubation period. These results can be used to understand pathogen inactivation during anaerobic digestion of dairy manure, and impacts of temperatures on performance of anaerobic digesters treating dairy manure

Resuspension of E. coli from Direct Fecal Deposits in Stream

Direct fecal deposits from cattle provide a significant source of E. coli to streams and therefore pose a threat to human health in agricultural watersheds. Experiments were conducted in a flume (9.1 m long, 0.6 m wide, and 0.6 m deep) with flow of 0.0106 m3 s-1 , an average velocity of 11.4 cm s-1 ,and water depth of 15.24 cm to measure the resuspension and deposition of E. coli from an undisturbed standard cowpat. Water samples were collected 1.22 m and 3.66 m downstream of the deposited cowpat, and at each downstream cross-section nine samples were collected to characterize the bacterial movement. E. coli in water samples were separated into the attached and unattached phases by filtration to assess the mechanism of transport. The cumulative load contribution from a single deposited cowpat after one hour was 2.49×10 9 cfu 3.66 m downstream. The composite E. coli concentrations at all sampling points and times exceeded the federal standards for primary contact in the United States of 126 cfu/100 ml. Between 77.2 and 99.5% of all E. coli downstream of the direct deposit were associated with particulates. The resuspension rate was 5.91×107 and 9.52×104 cfu m-2 s-1 0.5 min and 60 minutes after deposition, respectively, 1.22 m downstream of the deposit and 2.19×106 and 3.14×103 cfu m-2 s-1 0.5 min and 60 min after deposition, respectively, 3.66 m downstream of the deposit. Results from this study are useful to improve modeling techniques to predict in-stream E. coli concentrations from direct fecal deposits and emphasize the need to implement management practices to reduce livestock access to streams

Method to Partition Between Attached and Unattached E. coli in Runoff From Agricultural Lands 1

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/72554/1/j.1752-1688.2008.00262.x.pd