Virus and Bacteria Transport in a Sandy Aquifer, Cape Cod, MA

doi:10.1111/j.1745-6584.1995.tb00321.x

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Wiley InterScience

Ground Water

Volume 33 Issue 4, Pages 653 - 661

Published Online: 4 Aug 2005

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Virus and Bacteria Transport in a Sandy Aquifer, Cape Cod, MA

Roger C. Bales ^a , Shimin Li ^a , Kimberly M. Maguire ^b , Moyasar T. Yahya ^b , Charles P. Gerba ^b Ronald W. Harvey ^c

^a Department of Hydrology and Water Resources, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona 85721 (Li's current address is Arizona Dept. of Environmental Quality, 3033 N. Central Ave., Phoenix, Arizona 85012). ^b Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona 85721 (Yahya's current address is San Jose Water Quality Lab, 1965 Workman Mill Rd., Whittier, California 90601). ^c Water Resources Division, U.S. Geological Survey, 3215 Marine Street, Boulder, Colorado 80225.

ABSTRACT

Transport of the bacteriophage PRD-1, bacteria, and latex microspheres was studied in a sandy aquifer under natural-gradient conditions. The field injection was carried out at the U.S. Geological Survey's Toxic Substances Hydrology research site on Cape Cod. The three colloids and a salt tracer (Br⁻) moved along the same path. There was significant attenuation of the phage, with PRD-1 peak concentrations less than 0.001 percent of Br⁻ peaks 6 m from the source; but the low detection limit (one per ml) enabled tracking movement of the PRD-1 plume for 12 m downgradient over the 25-day experiment. Attenuation of phage was apparently due to retention on soil particles (adsorption). Attenuation of bacteria and microspheres was less, with peak concentrations 6 m from the source on the order of 10 and 0.4 percent of Br⁻, respectively. Injection of a high-pH pulse of water 20 days into the experiment resulted in significant remobilization of retained phage, demonstrating that attached phage remained viable, and that PRD-1 attachment to and detachment from the sandy soil particles was highly pH dependent. Phage behavior in this experiment, i.e. attenuation at pH 5.7 and rapid resuspension at pH 6–8, was consistent with that observed previously in laboratory column studies. Results illustrate that biocolloids travel in a fairly narrow plume in sandy (relatively homogeneous) media, with virus concentrations dropping below detection limit several meters away from the source; bacteria concentrations above detection limits can persist over longer distances.

Received December 1993, revised July 1994, accepted August 1994.

DIGITAL OBJECT IDENTIFIER (DOI)

10.1111/j.1745-6584.1995.tb00321.x About DOI