This article relates epilithic dry- and wet-seasonal bacterial biofilm composition to water quality along Río de la Sabana near Acapulco, Mexico. Samples were taken from various locations including nearly pristine upland locations, adjacent to residential floodplain developments, and immediately upstream from an estuarine lagoon. Bacterial composition was identified through sequential DNA analysis at the phylum, class, order, and family levels, with most of these categorized as heterotrophs, autotrophs, denitrifiers, nitrogen fixers, pathogens, and/or potential bioremediators based on generalized literature-sourced assignments. The results were interpreted in terms of location by extent of effluent pollution, and by dry versus wet seasonal changes pertaining to biofilm composition, related bacterial functions, and the following water quality parameters: temperature, pH, dissolved oxygen, biological and chemical oxygen demand, fecal and total bacteria counts, methylene blue active substances, electrical conductivity, and nitrite, nitrate, ammonium, sulfate, and phosphate concentrations. It was found that epilithic bacterial biofilm diversity was richest during the wet season, was more varied in abundance along the upland locations, and was dominated by Proteobacteria and Bacteroidetes with bioremediation and pathogen functions along effluent-receiving river locations. Low-abundance families associated with anaerobic and denitrifying functions were more prevalent during the wet season, while low-abundance families associated with aerobic, N2-fixing and pH-elevating functions were more prevalent during the dry season.

The basin of Rio de la Sabana is the largest tributary of the Tres Palos coastal lagoon in Southwest Mexico, east of Acapulco. This lagoon and its upstream basin areas have become a high priority area for the preservation of coastal and marine environments. To obtain information about water quality as affected by urban expansion since 2002, fourteen physicochemical parameters (temperature, pH, electrical conductivity, dissolved oxygen, ammonium, nitrate, nitrite, sulphate, phosphate), biochemical (biological and chemical oxygen demand, methylene blue active substances) and bacteriological parameters (total and fecal coliforms) were determined. This sampling was done for dry and rainy season conditions at seven locations (S1, S2, S3, …, S7) along the river, spaced 3 to 6 km apart to a total of 30.4 km. The results were grouped into four zones: (Z1) reference, (Z2) transition, (Z3) polluted, (Z4) recovery. The Alborada (S5) and Tunzingo (S6) sites, adjacent to dense high-class residential areas (Z3), had the greatest pollution charges in both seasons, while the La Poza (S7) site near the Tres Palos lagoon (Z4) showed a decrease in pollution. All parameters correlated with increasing head-to down-river sampling distance by following linear (pH, DO) or curvilinear patterns (all other parameters). Using sampling location and dry versus rainy sampling season as multivariate regression (predictor) variables led to least-squares capturing: 1) 66% to 95% of the T(˚C), pH, DO, and 3 4 PO − variations, and 2) 57% to 96% of the log-linear variations of the other parameters. Among the parameters,

Wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) receive a wide variety of contaminants that cannot be eliminated or completely removed with current conventional methods. In this sense, the development and use of advanced technologies is a challenge in countries where wastewater sanitation is hardly a guarantee. However, the reuse of treated urban wastewater can function as an alternative to mitigate water pressure and, at the same time, guarantees water quality for potential reuse in agriculture, in the irrigation of landscape or urban green areas, but especially for aquifer recharge. Therefore, this chapter is focused on reviewing the current state of WWTPs in Mexico and the potential reuse of treated water.