Occurrence of microcystins in raw water sources and treated drinking water of Finnish waterworks

2001 ◽  
Vol 43 (12) ◽  
pp. 225-228 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. Lahti ◽  
J. Rapala ◽  
A-L. Kivimäki ◽  
J. Kukkonen ◽  
M. Niemelä ◽  
...  

Problems caused by cyanobacteria are common around the world and also in raw water sources of drinking water treatment plants. Strains belonging to genera Microcystis, Anabaena and Planktothrix produce potent hepatotoxins, the microcystins. Laboratory and pilot scale studies have shown that microcystins dissolved in water may pass the conventional surface water treatment processes. In 1998 the World Health Organization proposed a guide value of 1 μg/L for microcystin-LR (MC-LR) in drinking water. The purpose of this research was to study the occurrence of microcystins in raw water sources of surface waterworks and in bank filtration plants and to evaluate the removal of microcystins in operating waterworks. Four bank filtration plants and nine surface waterworks using different processes for water treatment were monitored. Phytoplankton was identified and quantified, and microcystins analysed with sensitive immunoassay. Microcystin occurrence in selected water samples was verified with HPLC and a protein phosphatase inhibition method. Microcystins were detected sporadically in raw water sources of most of the waterworks. In two raw water supplies toxins were detected for several months. The highest microcystin concentrations in incoming raw water were approximately 10 μg/L MC-LR equivalents. In treated drinking water microcystins were detected occasionally but the concentrations were always below the guide value proposed by WHO.

2010 ◽  
pp. 69-73
Author(s):  
Franclin S. Foping

Drinking contaminated water can be harmful to our health. According to the World Health Organization, about 1.8 million people die every year across the world from water-borne diseases mainly caused by polluted drinking water. Furthermore, the cryptosporidium outbreak that happened in Galway in 2007 indicates the urgency to provide appropriate solutions in order to counteract this ominous situation in the country. Water treatment plants (WTP) are basic components of modern water supply and distribution systems. These are engineering systems that purify raw water to specific safety levels. The raw water passes through a series of treatment phases wherein it is processed and purified according to existing safety protocols regulating drinking water. After undergoing a purification step, the drinking water is distributed to the consumers through a network of pipes, pumps and reservoirs. The research presented in this report is focused on the safety of these critical infrastructures. In particular, the ...


Author(s):  
Gloria Naa Dzama Addico ◽  
Jörg D. Hardege ◽  
Jiri Kohoutek ◽  
Kweku Amoaku Atta DeGraft-Johnson ◽  
Pavel Babica

<p>Although cyanobacterial blooms and cyanotoxins represent a worldwide-occurring phenomenon, there are large differences among different countries in cyanotoxin-related human health risk assessment, management practices and policies. While national standards, guideline values and detailed regulatory frameworks for effective management of cyanotoxin risks have been implemented in many industrialized countries, the extent of cyanobacteria occurrence and cyanotoxin contamination in certain geographical regions is under-reported and not very well understood. Such regions include major parts of tropical West and Central Africa, a region constisting of more than 25 countries occupying an area of 12 million km<sup>2</sup>, with a total population of 500 milion people. Only few studies focusing on cyanotoxin occurrence in this region have been published so far, and reports dealing specifically with cyanotoxin contamination in drinking water are extremely scarce. In this study, we report seasonal data on cyanobacteria and microcystin (MC) contamination in drinking water reservoirs and adjacent treatment plants located in Ghana, West Africa. During January-June 2005, concentrations of MCs were monitored in four treatment plants supplying drinking water to major metropolitan areas in Ghana: the treatment plants Barekese and Owabi, which serve Kumasi Metropolitan Area, and the plants Kpong and Weija, providing water for Accra-Tema Metropolitan Area. HPLC analyses showed that 65% samples of raw water at the intake of the treatment plants contained intracellular MCs (maximal detected concentration was 8.73 µg L<sup>-1</sup>), whereas dissolved toxins were detected in 33% of the samples. Significant reduction of cyanobacterial cell counts and MC concentrations was achieved during the entire monitoring period by the applied conventional water treatment methods (alum flocculation, sedimentation, rapid sand filtration and chlorination), and MC concentration in the final treated water never exceeded 1 µg L<sup>-1</sup> (WHO guideline limit for MCs in drinking water). However, cyanobacterial cells (93-3,055 cell mL<sup>-1</sup>) were frequently found in the final treated water and intracellular MCs were detected in 17% of the samples (maximal concentration 0.61 µg L<sup>-1</sup>), while dissolved MCs were present in 14% of the final treated water samples (maximal concentration 0.81 µg L<sup>-1</sup>). It indicates a borderline efficiency of the water treatment, thus MC concentrations in drinking water might exceed the WHO guideline limit if the treatment efficiency gets compromised. In addition, MC concentrations found in the raw water intake might represent significant human health risks for people living in areas with only a limited access to the treated or underground drinking water.</p>


2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (01) ◽  
pp. 512-524
Author(s):  
Konan Lopez Kouame ◽  
◽  
Nogbou Emmanuel Assidjo ◽  
Andre Kone Ariban ◽  
◽  
...  

This article presents an optimization of the drinking water treatment process at the SUCRIVOIRE treatment station. The objective is to optimize the coagulation and flocculation process (fundamental process of the treatment of said plant)by determining the optimal dosages of the products injected and then proposes a program for calculating the optimal dose of coagulant in order to automatically determine the optimal dose of the latter according to the raw water quality. This contribution has the advantage of saving the user from any calculations the latter simply enters the characteristics of the raw effluent using the physical interface of the program in order to obtain the optimum corresponding coagulant concentration. For the determination of the optimal coagulant doses, we performed Jar-Test flocculation tests in the laboratory over a period of three months. The results made it possible to set up a polynomial regression model of the optimal dose of alumina sulfate as a function of the raw water parameters. A program for calculating the optimal dose of coagulant was carried out on Visual Basic. The optimal doses of coagulant obtained vary from 25, 35, 40 and 45 mg/l depending on the characteristics of the raw effluent. The model obtained is: . Finally, verification tests were carried out using this model on the process. The results obtained meet the WHO drinkability standards for all parameters for a settling time of two hours.


2017 ◽  
Vol 17 (6) ◽  
pp. 1793-1800
Author(s):  
Y. Yan ◽  
M. Carter ◽  
A. Mercer

Abstract Pilot plant testing is invaluable for ascertaining the robustness of water treatment processes against raw water quality events such as turbidity and colour spikes, whether it be for stress testing of an existing process or designing of a new process. Unfortunately, the natural occurrence of such events (particularly colour) can be difficult to predict and commercial humic materials generally fail to closely match the indigenous natural organic matter (NOM) present in the raw water. Therefore, it is highly desirable to be able to simulate NOM event conditions. This paper describes a simple brewing method that we developed and used in our recent pilot plant evaluation of a proposed DAF/Ozone/BAC process for drinking water treatment. Using this method we successfully prepared, by using fallen leaves etc. collected from the local catchment area, large quantities of a concentrated NOM stock solution with its specific ultraviolet absorbance (SUVA), when diluted, very close to the median SUVA of historical NOM events. The brewed solution showed broadly similar NOM characteristics to those of the raw water encountered during the pilot investigation period in terms of molecular weight distribution and fractionation. The coagulation behaviour was also examined for the spiked and non-spiked raw water.


2015 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 879-896 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Petterson ◽  
D. Roser ◽  
D. Deere

It is proposed that the next revision of the Australian Drinking Water Guidelines will include ‘health-based targets’, where the required level of potable water treatment quantitatively relates to the magnitude of source water pathogen concentrations. To quantify likely Cryptosporidium concentrations in southern Australian surface source waters, the databases for 25 metropolitan water supplies with good historical records, representing a range of catchment sizes, land use and climatic regions were mined. The distributions and uncertainty intervals for Cryptosporidium concentrations were characterized for each site. Then, treatment targets were quantified applying the framework recommended in the World Health Organization Guidelines for Drinking-Water Quality 2011. Based on total oocyst concentrations, and not factoring in genotype or physiological state information as it relates to infectivity for humans, the best estimates of the required level of treatment, expressed as log10 reduction values, ranged among the study sites from 1.4 to 6.1 log10. Challenges associated with relying on historical monitoring data for defining drinking water treatment requirements were identified. In addition, the importance of quantitative microbial risk assessment input assumptions on the quantified treatment targets was investigated, highlighting the need for selection of locally appropriate values.


2007 ◽  
Vol 5 (3) ◽  
pp. 367-374 ◽  
Author(s):  
Romulo E. Colindres ◽  
Seema Jain ◽  
Anna Bowen ◽  
Eric Mintz ◽  
Polyana Domond

Tropical Storm Jeanne struck Haiti in September 2004, causing widespread flooding which contaminated water sources, displaced thousands of families and killed approximately 2,800 people. Local leaders distributed PūR®, a flocculent-disinfectant product for household water treatment, to affected populations. We evaluated knowledge, attitudes, practices, and drinking water quality among a sample of PūR® recipients. We interviewed representatives of 100 households in three rural communities who received PūR® and PūR®-related education. Water sources were tested for fecal contamination and turbidity; stored household water was tested for residual chlorine. All households relied on untreated water sources (springs [66%], wells [15%], community taps [13%], and rivers [6%]). After distribution, PūR® was the most common in-home treatment method (58%) followed by chlorination (30%), plant-based flocculation (6%), boiling (5%), and filtration (1%). Seventy-eight percent of respondents correctly answered five questions about how to use PūR®; 81% reported PūR® easy to use; and 97% reported that PūR®-treated water appears, tastes, and smells better than untreated water. Although water sources tested appeared clear, fecal coliform bacteria were detected in all sources (range 1 – &gt;200 cfu/100 ml). Chlorine was present in 10 (45%) of 22 stored drinking water samples in households using PūR®. PūR® was well-accepted and properly used in remote communities where local leaders helped with distribution and education. This highly effective water purification method can help protect disaster-affected communities from waterborne disease.


2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 72-76
Author(s):  
Yesvi Zulfiana ◽  
Nurul Fatmawati ◽  
Siskha Maya Herlina

Diarrhea is still a health problem in the world, especially in developing countries. The World Health Organization (WHO) explained that the cause of death in infants and toddlers is diarrhea, which ranks second. Meanwhile, based on Indonesia's health profile in 2015, there were 18 outbreaks of diarrhea in 11 provinces, 18 districts / cities, with 1,213 sufferers and 30 deaths (CFR 2.47%). Several factors related to the incidence of diarrhea are maternal care, birth weight and environmental sanitation. This study aims to determine the relationship between maternal parenting, birth weight and environmental sanitation with the incidence of diarrhea in children under five in Selagalas Village, the working area of ​​Cakranegara Health Center. This study used a cross-sectional quantitative design on 104 toddlers who were selected by systematic random sampling in three selected environments in Selagalas Village. Data were collected by structured interviews using questionnaires and observation sheets. Data analysis was carried out bivariately using logistic regression to see the relationship between family drinking water management and the incidence of diarrhea. 64.42% of children under five were found to have experienced diarrhea. The variable related to the incidence of diarrhea was the lack of drinking water management with a value of P = 0.03. The management of family drinking water is still lacking so it is necessary to make health promotion efforts for the family to improve the management of family drinking water that meets the requirements so that it can improve the behavior of a clean and healthy life.


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