Virus occurrence in municipal groundwater sources in Quebec, Canada

Abstract

A 1 year study was undertaken on groundwater that was a source of drinking water in the province of Quebec, Canada. Twelve municipal wells (raw water) were sampled monthly during a 1 year period, for a total of 160 samples. Using historic data, the 12 sites were categorized into 3 groups: group A (no known contamination), group B (sporadically contaminated by total coliforms), and group C (historic and continuous contamination by total coliforms and (or) fecal coliforms). Bacterial indicators (total coliform, Escherichia coli, enteroccoci), viral indicators (somatic and male-specific coliphages), total culturable human enteric viruses, and noroviruses were analyzed at every sampling site. Total coliforms were the best indicator of microbial degradation, and coliform bacteria were always present at the same time as human enteric viruses. Two samples contained human enteric viruses but no fecal pollution indicators (E. coli, enterococci, or coliphages), suggesting the limited value of these microorganisms in predicting the presence of human enteric viruses in groundwater. Our results underline the value of historic data in assessing the vulnerability of a well on the basis of raw water quality and in detecting degradation of the source. This project allowed us to characterize the microbiologic and virologic quality of groundwater used as municipal drinking water sources in Quebec.

Coliphages as Model Organisms in the Characterization and Management of Water Resources

“…Accordingly, low rates of co-occurrence or an absence of correlation among different human viruses have been reported in different settings. In groundwater these failures have been identified for enteroviruses, rotaviruses, hepatitis-A viruses, and noroviruses [131,139]; noroviruses, enteroviruses, rotaviruses, adenoviruses, and hepatitis-A viruses [129]; enteroviruses and noroviruses [127]; and enteroviruses, adenoviruses, and reoviruses [143]. In surface waters, a lack of co-occurrence or correlation has been reported for adenoviruses and enteroviruses [136]; enteroviruses and adenoviruses [142]; enteroviruses and adenoviruses [124]; adenoviruses and noroviruses [144]; and enteroviruses and polyomaviruses [145].…”

Virus occurrence in private and public wells in a fractured dolostone aquifer in Canada

“…Other studies sampling a wide array of wells such as Lindsey et al (2002) and Johnson et al (2011) also completed a limited number of sampling events at each of their wells and so detection rates are not representative of the actual vulnerability of the wells or aquifers. Studies including temporal sampling such as those conducted by Lieberman et al (2002), Borchardt et al (2003), and Locas et al (2007), therefore, provide better insight with regard to the true vulnerability of a well completed in a fractured bedrock aquifer. In the study by Lieberman et al (2002), temporal sampling of 13 wells completed in karstic bedrock was conducted over an entire year and found that 43% of the wells exhibited culturable viruses.…”

“…In the study by Lieberman et al (2002), temporal sampling of 13 wells completed in karstic bedrock was conducted over an entire year and found that 43% of the wells exhibited culturable viruses. In the study by Locas et al (2007), the only known field-scale studies of viruses in Canadian groundwater, both of the bedrock wells that were sampled also exhibited viruses. While both of these studies produced temporal data, Lieberman et al only sampled wells that had previously recorded contamination with microbial water quality indicators such as E. coli and Locas et al (2007) sampled only a limited number of bedrock wells.…”

Evaluation of electropositive filtration for recovering norovirus in water

“…Then, the adsorbed virus is eluted from the filter and is further concentrated by either polyethylene glycol (PEG) or organic flocculation. The electropositive 1MDS filter has been widely used for virus detection in water (Sobsey & Glass 1980;Sobsey et al 2004;Wang et al 2005;Hsu et al 2007;Locas et al 2007Locas et al , 2008. Owing to the predominantly negative charge present on the surface of viruses, use of electropositive filters (e.g.…”