Impact of Domestic Wastewater Treatment Plants on the Quality of Shallow Groundwater in Qalyubia, Egypt; Discrimination of Microbial Contamination Source Using BOX-PCR

Abstract

M UNICIPAL sewage, septic tanks, fertilizers, animal feedlots and irrigation wastewater are the common sources of groundwater pollution in rural areas. Sedimentation pools of wastewater treatment plants are possibly suggested to be another source of pollution. Two wastewater treatment plants located at Qalyubia governorate named Qalyub (QWTP) and Shubra Al-khayma (SHWTP) were selected to carry out the present study; two samples from influent and effluent were collected seasonally from both plants. Furthermore, 6 groundwater samples were collected from nearby rural houses of both plants. The physicochemical and microbiological properties were evaluated for all samples. Moreover, Box-PCR for 12 strains isolated from wastewater and groundwater at Qalyub district was carried out. Water quality assessment studies proven that the effectiveness of the two wastewater treatment plants under investigation is questionable, especially QWTP. The percentages of removing of TSS, COD, BOD, ammonia, total coliform and fecal coliform counts were 87, 74, 88, 66, 94 and 89%, respectively, for QWTP, and 85, 89, 93, 86, 94 and 83%, respectively, for SHWTP. The groundwater at Qalyub district was contaminated with Mn, Fe, ammonia, BOD, coliform bacteria, fecal streptococci, E. coli, Aerumonas hydrophilla and Pseudomonas aeruginosea, while the groundwater at Shubra Al-khayma district was contaminated with Mn, coliform bacteria, fecal streptococci and P. aeruginosea. Microbial and chemical evaluation of groundwater, as well as, Box-PCR results proven that, the contamination of the tested groundwater might be of other source than water treatment plants.

Assessing the Quality of Treated Wastewater for Irrigation: A Case Study of Ain Sefra Wastewater Treatment Plant

“…Similarly, studies conducted in other countries have reported different ammonia concentrations in treated wastewater. For instance, a study by Ewida et al [63] in Qalyubia, Egypt, found an average ammonia concentration of 14 mg/L, indicating higher concentrations compared to the current study. These comparative findings highlight the variations in ammonia concentrations observed across different WWTPs in Algeria and internationally.…”

Multivariate statistics explaining groundwater chemistry, Asyut, Egypt

“…Evaporation factor enhances groundwater bacteria, sulfate, chloride, and nitrates (Dissanayake & Chandrajith, 2009). Groundwater pollution due to the absence/deterioration of sewage systems and intensive fertilization has received attention in Egyptian literature (Redwan et al, 2020;Said et al, 2020;Ewida et al, 2021;Said & Salman, 2021;Salem et al, 2021).…”

IRAP-PCR Technique for Determining the Biodiversity between Egyptian Barley Cultivars

“…Barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) is one of the major crops grown on a grand scale in the Coastal Region of North Egypt and in the newly reclaimed soils characterized by a lack of fresh water and salinity stress (El-Sherif & Ibrahim, 2020;Ewida et al, 2021). It is primarily used for animal forages, but it is increasingly being used as a human food because of its nutritional and health benefits in most countries that use hull-less barley (Noaman et al, 2011).…”