Urbanization Impacts the Physicochemical Characteristics and Abundance of Fecal Markers and Bacterial Pathogens in Surface Water
by
Tianma Yuan 1, Kiran Kumar Vadde 1, Jonathan D. Tonkin 2
, Jianjun Wang 3, Jing Lu 4, Zimeng Zhang 5, Yixin Zhang 6, Alan J. McCarthy 7 and Raju Sekar 1,*
, Jianjun Wang 3, Jing Lu 4, Zimeng Zhang 5, Yixin Zhang 6, Alan J. McCarthy 7 and Raju Sekar 1,*
1
Department of Biological Sciences, Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University, Suzhou 215123, China
2
School of Biological Sciences, University of Canterbury, Christchurch 8140, New Zealand
3
Nanjing Institute of Geography and Limnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing 210008, China
4
Futurepolis LLC, Suzhou 215021, China
5
Institute of Integrative Biology, University of Liverpool, Liverpool L69 3BX, UK
6
Department of Health and Environmental Sciences, Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University, Suzhou 215123, China
7
Microbiology Research Group, Institute of Integrative Biology, University of Liverpool, Liverpool L69 7ZB, UK
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2019, 16(10), 1739; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph16101739
Received: 2 April 2019 / Revised: 29 April 2019 / Accepted: 10 May 2019 / Published: 16 May 2019
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Surface Water Quality for Environment and Health)
Urbanization is increasing worldwide and is happening at a rapid rate in China in line with economic development. Urbanization can lead to major changes in freshwater environments through multiple chemical and microbial contaminants. We assessed the impact of urbanization on physicochemical characteristics and microbial loading in canals in Suzhou, a city that has experienced rapid urbanization in recent decades. Nine sampling locations covering three urban intensity classes (high, medium and low) in Suzhou were selected for field studies and three locations in Huangshan (natural reserve) were included as pristine control locations. Water samples were collected for physicochemical, microbiological and molecular analyses. Compared to medium and low urbanization sites, there were statistically significant higher levels of nutrients and total and thermotolerant coliforms (or fecal coliforms) in highly urbanized locations. The effect of urbanization was also apparent in the abundances of human-associated fecal markers and bacterial pathogens in water samples from highly urbanized locations. These results correlated well with land use types and anthropogenic activities at the sampling sites. The overall results indicate that urbanization negatively impacts water quality, providing high levels of nutrients and a microbial load that includes fecal markers and pathogens.
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Keywords:
urbanization; water quality; nutrients; microbial contaminations; fecal markers; pathogens; Suzhou canals
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MDPI and ACS Style
Yuan, T.; Vadde, K.K.; Tonkin, J.D.; Wang, J.; Lu, J.; Zhang, Z.; Zhang, Y.; McCarthy, A.J.; Sekar, R. Urbanization Impacts the Physicochemical Characteristics and Abundance of Fecal Markers and Bacterial Pathogens in Surface Water. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2019, 16, 1739.
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