Treated Wastewater Effluent as a Source of Microbial Pollution of Surface Water Resources
Discipline of Microbiology, School of Life Sciences, College of Agriculture, Engineering and Science, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Private Bag X541 001, Westville Campus, Durban 4000, South Africa
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Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2014, 11(1), 249-270; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph110100249
Received: 9 October 2013 / Revised: 3 December 2013 / Accepted: 4 December 2013 / Published: 23 December 2013
Since 1990, more than 1.8 billion people have gained access to potable water and improved sanitation worldwide. Whilst this represents a vital step towards improving global health and well-being, accelerated population growth coupled with rapid urbanization has further strained existing water supplies. Whilst South Africa aims at spending 0.5% of its GDP on improving sanitation, additional factors such as hydrological variability and growing agricultural needs have further increased dependence on this finite resource. Increasing pressure on existing wastewater treatment plants has led to the discharge of inadequately treated effluent, reinforcing the need to improve and adopt more stringent methods for monitoring discharged effluent and surrounding water sources. This review provides an overview of the relative efficiencies of the different steps involved in wastewater treatment as well as the commonly detected microbial indicators with their associated health implications. In addition, it highlights the need to enforce more stringent measures to ensure compliance of treated effluent quality to the existing guidelines.
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MDPI and ACS Style
Naidoo, S.; Olaniran, A.O. Treated Wastewater Effluent as a Source of Microbial Pollution of Surface Water Resources. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2014, 11, 249-270. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph110100249
AMA Style
Naidoo S, Olaniran AO. Treated Wastewater Effluent as a Source of Microbial Pollution of Surface Water Resources. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 2014; 11(1):249-270. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph110100249
Chicago/Turabian StyleNaidoo, Shalinee; Olaniran, Ademola O. 2014. "Treated Wastewater Effluent as a Source of Microbial Pollution of Surface Water Resources" Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 11, no. 1: 249-270. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph110100249
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