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Evaluation of Microbiological Indicators for Water and Wastewater Treatment and Reuse

A special issue of Water (ISSN 2073-4441). This special issue belongs to the section "Water Quality and Contamination".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 20 December 2025 | Viewed by 3927

Special Issue Editor


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Guest Editor
Department of Microbiology and Biomonitoring, University of Agriculture in Kraków, Krakow, Poland
Interests: airborne microorganisms; antibiotics; antibiotic resistance; circular economy of water; environmental bacteria and fungi; wastewater treatment; waterborne microorganisms; water quality
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Currently, the majority of the regions of the world are dealing with broadly understood water scarcity. This limits access to clean and safe water in all aspects of human functioning. Freshwater contamination and deteriorations in the quality of water resources are two of the greatest issues faced worldwide. In this context, the reuse of water and treated wastewater, as well as improving the efficiency of wastewater treatment, can be a significant relief to water resources and the reduction in the environmental impact of anthropogenic activities. Thus, it is crucial that the quality of treated wastewater and reused water is high enough to ensure the safety of the environment and people.

This Special Issue aims to present recent advances in research on microbiological indicators of water and wastewater quality based on a variety of approaches and analytical methods.

I sincerely invite you to submit manuscripts (research articles, reviews, mini-reviews, and communications) focused on, but not limited to, the following:

  • Anthropogenic impact on aquatic environment;
  • Aquatic environment contamination;
  • Environmental impact of water and wastewater reuse;
  • Public health and safety related to microbiological contaminants;
  • Novel techniques and technologies of water and wastewater treatment;
  • Novel methods of water quality testing;
  • Searching for new indicators of water and wastewater quality;
  • Wastewater as a source of antibiotic resistant microorganisms;
  • Water and wastewater reuse in circular economy.

Prof. Dr. Anna Lenart-Boroń
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

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Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Water is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • antibiotic resistance
  • bacteria
  • drinking water
  • fungi
  • health risks
  • irrigation
  • microbiological contamination
  • protozoa
  • treatment plants
  • viruses
  • wastewater treatment
  • water pollution
  • water reuse

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Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

14 pages, 2819 KiB  
Article
First Report of Antibiotic-Resistant Coagulase-Negative Staphylococcus Strains Isolated from Technical Snow on Ski Slopes in Mountain Areas
by Klaudia Stankiewicz and Anna Lenart-Boroń
Water 2025, 17(2), 185; https://doi.org/10.3390/w17020185 - 10 Jan 2025
Viewed by 1005
Abstract
Coagulase-negative staphylococci form a heterogeneous group defined solely by the lack of coagulase. Initially considered non-pathogenic, they are now known to be opportunistic pathogens of increasing importance. This study was conducted to examine the prevalence of Staphylococcus spp., their taxonomic diversity, antibiotic resistance [...] Read more.
Coagulase-negative staphylococci form a heterogeneous group defined solely by the lack of coagulase. Initially considered non-pathogenic, they are now known to be opportunistic pathogens of increasing importance. This study was conducted to examine the prevalence of Staphylococcus spp., their taxonomic diversity, antibiotic resistance patterns and genetic determinants of antibiotic resistance in the water resources used within the technical snow production process. The types of samples included (1) river water at intakes where water is drawn for snowmaking, (2) water stored in technical reservoirs, from which it is pumped into the snowmaking systems, (3) and technical snowmelt water. The study was conducted in the catchments of five rivers: Białka, Biały Dunajec, Raba and Wisła in Poland, and Studený Potok in Slovakia. Staphylococcus spp. was detected in all types of samples: in 17% of river water, 25% of reservoir-stored water and in 60% of technical snowmelt water. All staphylococci were coagulase-negative (CoNS) and belonged to 10 species, with S. epidermidis being the most prevalent in river water, S. warneri and S. pasteuri in reservoir-stored water and S. haemolyticus in snowmelt water. The highest resistance rates to erythromycin and macrolide/lincosamid/streptogramin b (MLSb) types of resistance were detected in all types of samples, accompanied by the erythromycin efflux pump-determining msrA gene as the most frequent genetic determinant of antibiotic resistance. This study is the first report of the presence of antibiotic-resistant, including multidrug-resistant, CoNS carrying more than one gene determining antibiotic resistance in technical snow in the mountain areas of the Central European countries. Full article
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24 pages, 3622 KiB  
Article
Antimicrobial Resistance of Waste Water Microbiome in an Urban Waste Water Treatment Plant
by Zvezdimira Tsvetanova and Rosen Boshnakov
Water 2025, 17(1), 39; https://doi.org/10.3390/w17010039 - 27 Dec 2024
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1049
Abstract
Waste water treatment plants (WWTP) are considered as a hotspot for the acquisition and dissemination of antimicrobial resistance (AMR). The present study aimed to assess the AMR rate of the waste water microbiome in a selected WWTP and the treatment efficiency. Culture-dependent and [...] Read more.
Waste water treatment plants (WWTP) are considered as a hotspot for the acquisition and dissemination of antimicrobial resistance (AMR). The present study aimed to assess the AMR rate of the waste water microbiome in a selected WWTP and the treatment efficiency. Culture-dependent and PCR methods were used in the AMR study of raw and treated waste water (TWW) microbiomes. The population proportion of heterotrophic plate count (HPC) bacteria resistant to five antibiotic classes was assessed, as well as the AMR phenotype of a total of 238 Enterobacteriaceae and 259 Enterococcus spp. strains. Waste water treatment increased tetracycline- and ciprofloxacin-resistant bacteria by 67% and 61%, as well as the incidence of Enterobacteriaceae resistant to ciprofloxacin, co-trimoxazole, and cephalosporins. Multiple resistance increased, and 8.8% of TWW isolates exhibited an ESBL-producing phenotype, most often encoded by blaTEM and blaCTX-M genes. The most common resistance among Enterococcus spp. was to erythromycin and tetracycline, and despite the increased AMR rate among TWW isolates, only the increase in tetracycline resistance and the decrease in high-level gentamicin resistance were significant. All parameters analysed demonstrated limited removal of resistant HPC or faecal indicator bacteria in the studied WWTP and a positive selective effect towards some of them, most often to ciprofloxacin. Full article
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16 pages, 3308 KiB  
Article
Degradation of Ciprofloxacin in Water Using Escherichia coli and Enterococcus faecium
by Nazish Mohy-u-Din, Muhammad Farhan, Aneeba Rashid, Mehwish Mohy-u-Din and Luiza C. Campos
Water 2024, 16(23), 3407; https://doi.org/10.3390/w16233407 - 27 Nov 2024
Viewed by 1351
Abstract
The presence of antibiotics in the wastewater is a growing concern, as they tend to bioaccumulate and are increasing the resistance of bacteria. This study investigates the microbial degradation of ciprofloxacin (CIP) in water using Escherichia coli (E. coli) and Enterococcus [...] Read more.
The presence of antibiotics in the wastewater is a growing concern, as they tend to bioaccumulate and are increasing the resistance of bacteria. This study investigates the microbial degradation of ciprofloxacin (CIP) in water using Escherichia coli (E. coli) and Enterococcus faecium (E. faecium). This research aims to degrade the ciprofloxacin antibiotic, which is creating multiple problems in the environment and wastewater. Bacterial strains were isolated from wastewater and sludge samples, and their identities were confirmed through 16S rRNA sequencing. The degradation potential was assessed using a shake flask method under varying conditions, including different antibiotic concentrations, temperatures, pH levels, and inoculum densities. E. coli effectively degraded CIP, achieving 90% degradation at 50 mg/L in 18 days, in optimal conditions like a temperature of 37 °C, a pH of 6.5, and an inoculum concentration of 10−8 CFU/mL. However, at higher concentrations (150 mg/L), degradation decreased. Similarly, E. faecium showed a maximum degradation rate of 100% at 50 mg/L of CIP in 18 days, with optimal degradation occurring at 40 °C, a pH of 6.5, and an inoculum density of 10−8 CFU/mL. This study underscores the effectiveness of selected microbial strains in bioremediation processes, highlighting their potential application in mitigating antibiotic pollution in aquatic environments. This is the preliminary study to explore the potential of isolated bacteria to degrade CIP, and their degradation ability can be utilized to develop a CIP-contaminated wastewater treatment plant. Full article
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