Fecal contamination and water quality

Fecal contamination of water sources introduces bacterial, viral, and protozoan pathogens that cause millions of waterborne illnesses each year, making the detection and control of microbial pollution a central concern in environmental science. Researchers study how pathogens move through soils, sediments, and surface waters — drawing on colloid filtration theory to understand why some microbes travel far from their source while others are rapidly immobilized — and use indicator organisms like *E. coli* and enterococci as practical proxies for broader fecal pollution when direct pathogen monitoring is too costly or slow. Microbial source tracking methods aim to distinguish human sewage from animal waste inputs, which matters greatly for assigning responsibility and designing targeted interventions. Open questions include how extreme weather events such as flooding and drought alter pathogen transport dynamics, and whether current indicator frameworks adequately predict risk from emerging or antibiotic-resistant pathogens in complex, real-world water systems.

Works

37,170

Total citations

312,680

Keywords

Waterborne DiseasePathogen TransportFecal ContaminationMicrobial Source TrackingColloid Filtration TheoryBacterial Pathogens