Effects of a sewage treatment plant outlet pipe extension on the distribution of contaminants in the sediments of the Bay of Vidy, Lake Geneva, Switzerland

Poté, John; Haller, Laurence; Loizeau, Jean‐Luc; Bravo, Andrea G.; Sastre, Vincent; Wildi, Walter

doi:10.1016/j.biortech.2007.12.075

Cited by 134 publications

(125 citation statements)

References 22 publications

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“…Differences as well as similarities in the spatial patterns of both contaminants may thus be informative. Compared with previous studies (8 mg kg À 1 sediment (Poté et al, 2008)), a relatively low maximum THg concentration of 1.3 mg kg -1 sediment was measured during our survey (EG2, compare Figure 2f), indicating reduced recent deposition. We found elevated THg levels to be the highest around the STEP site but above background levels up to 600 m away in direction of the deep lake (EG4), 535 m away in the south-western direction (NC6) and 877 m in the south-eastern direction (EG14, Figure 2f).…”

Section: Comparison Of Args and Hg Contaminationcontrasting

confidence: 97%

“…As sediments in Vidy Bay are contaminated not only with Hg but also with other heavy metals in excess of background levels (Poté et al, 2008), it could be argued that the observed elevated ARG levels are caused by heavy metal pollution rather than bacterial deposition. In a study carried out along a section of the Almendares River, which is affected by different urban and industrial contamination sources, good correlations were demonstrated for sediment ARGs (tet and b-lactamases) and copper levels (Graham et al, 2010).…”

Section: Direct and Indirect Causes Of Arg Contaminationmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The largest WWTP is located in Lausanne and discharges treated wastewater and occasionally bypass water into Vidy Bay. The bay's sediments have been reported to be heavily polluted by fecal-indicator bacteria, heavy metals, nitrogen and phosphorus (Poté et al, 2008). Micropollutants, including antibiotics (Bonvin et al, 2011), as well as multiresistant bacteria and ARGs pass through the WWTP and are subsequently discharged in considerable amounts into Vidy Bay (Czekalski et al, 2012).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Fluoroquinolones were introduced during the 1970s and are, of the three substance classes, currently the most frequently used in clinics. ARGs were compared with an already well-studied WWTP-released contaminant, total mercury (THg), for which background levels in Lake Geneva are known from previous studies (Arboille et al, 1989;Poté et al, 2008). Mapping of the two-dimensional spatial pattern of the investigated ARGs and THg was carried out using a geographic information system (ArcGIS).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Wastewater as a point source of antibiotic-resistance genes in the sediment of a freshwater lake

2014

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Antibiotic-resistance genes (ARGs) are currently discussed as emerging environmental contaminants. Hospital and municipal sewage are important sources of ARGs for the receiving freshwater bodies. We investigated the spatial distribution of different ARGs (sul1, sul2, tet(B), tet(M), tet(W) and qnrA) in freshwater lake sediments in the vicinity of a point source of treated wastewater. ARG contamination of Vidy Bay, Lake Geneva, Switzerland was quantified using real-time PCR and compared with total mercury (THg), a frequently particle-bound inorganic contaminant with known natural background levels. Two-dimensional mapping of the investigated contaminants in lake sediments with geostatistical tools revealed total and relative abundance of ARGs in close proximity of the sewage discharge point were up to 200-fold above levels measured at a remote reference site (center of the lake) and decreased exponentially with distance. Similar trends were observed in the spatial distribution of different ARGs, whereas distributions of ARGs and THg were only moderately correlated, indicating differences in the transport and fate of these pollutants or additional sources of ARG contamination. The spatial pattern of ARG contamination and supporting data suggest that deposition of particle-associated wastewater bacteria rather than co-selection by, for example, heavy metals was the main cause of sediment ARG contamination.

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Section: Comparison Of Args and Hg Contaminationcontrasting

confidence: 97%

Section: Direct and Indirect Causes Of Arg Contaminationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Wastewater as a point source of antibiotic-resistance genes in the sediment of a freshwater lake

2014

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“…Since several decades it has been the subject of close environmental monitoring. Different studies from the Forel Institute (Pote et al, 2008;J-L Loizeau et al, 2004) indicate that the sediments of the Vidy Bay contain high level of heavy-metals (HM). This is mainly due to the rejection into the bay of the runoff surface water, but also the treated wastewater from the city of Lausanne and its suburbs (412'000 equivalent inhabitant).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Endospore-forming bacteria as an indicator of pollution in sediments of Lake Geneva

Bueche

Sauvain

Wunderlin

et al. 2013

E3S Web of Conferences

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Abstract. Treated wastewater and runoff-water is released by the outlet of the sewage treatment plant of Vidy (Lausanne) directly into the Lake of Geneva via a pipe located 300m from the shore. Even if this water is properly treated with modern technologies, we can observe an accumulation of micro pollutants into the sediments, and particularly heavy-metals. The main objective of this project is to investigate how these elevated concentrations of heavy metals affect both abundance and diversity of prokaryotes in the sediments. A special emphasis was given to endospore-forming bacteria, which could use sporulation as a survival strategy to resist in highly contaminated areas. This study could have implications both for understanding the role of endospore-forming bacteria in the environment as well as in terms of improving the bioremediation processes.

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Pharmaceuticals in surface waters: sources, behavior, ecological risk, and possible solutions. Case study of Lake Geneva, Switzerland

Chèvre

2013

WIREs Water

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Nowadays, pharmaceuticals are present in surface waters as well as in groundwaters of developed countries. In the middle of Lake Geneva, for example, one of the largest European lakes, 14 pharmaceuticals are regularly detected in concentrations up to 0.37 µg/L. This pollution is due to the human consumption of drugs and also veterinary use and industrial releases during production. In the case of Lake Geneva, this latter pollution is significant for some specific compounds. But, as shown in this overview, environmental toxicity data are lacking for most of the pharmaceuticals detected in the aquatic environment. For example, the ecotoxicity of metformin, one of the main compounds detected in Lake Geneva, is mostly unknown for the moment. Furthermore, specific effects like endocrine disruption, genotoxicity, or antibioresistance induction, which may be expected because of the mode of action of some drugs, have not yet been investigated for aquatic species. Ecological risk assessment of pharmaceuticals is therefore tricky and most of the time is not feasible. Owing to this lack of knowledge, also due to high biological potency of the pharmaceuticals, it is critical to reduce the release of these compounds to the aquatic system. This may be achieved by ‘at source’ (e.g., urine collection) methods or ‘end of pipe’ (e.g., wastewater treatment) solutions. WIREs Water 2014, 1:69–86. doi: 10.1002/wat2.1006 This article is categorized under: Science of Water > Water Quality

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Effects of a sewage treatment plant outlet pipe extension on the distribution of contaminants in the sediments of the Bay of Vidy, Lake Geneva, Switzerland

Cited by 134 publications

References 22 publications

Wastewater as a point source of antibiotic-resistance genes in the sediment of a freshwater lake

Wastewater as a point source of antibiotic-resistance genes in the sediment of a freshwater lake

Endospore-forming bacteria as an indicator of pollution in sediments of Lake Geneva

Pharmaceuticals in surface waters: sources, behavior, ecological risk, and possible solutions. Case study of Lake Geneva, Switzerland

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