Titel
Short-term impacts of a large cultural event on the microbial pollution status of a pre-alpine river
Autor*in
Melanie Leopold
Karl Landsteiner University of Health Sciences, Division Water Quality and Health, Austria
Nikola Krlovic
Technische Universität Wien, Institute for Water Quality and Resource Management
... show all
Abstract
Rivers are impacted by microbial faecal pollution from various sources. We report on a short-term faecal pollution event at the pre-alpine Austrian river Traisen caused by the large cultural event FM4 Frequency music festival, with around 200,000 visitors over 4 days. We observed a massive increase of the faecal indicator bacteria (FIB) intestinal enterococci during the event, while Escherichia coli concentrations were only slightly elevated. This increase poses a significant potential health threat to visitors and people recreating downstream of the festival area. A plausible explanation for the uncoupling of the two FIBs may have been a differential persistence caused by a combination of factors including water temperature, solar radiation, and the excessive presence of personal care products (PCPs) in the river water. However, a potential impact of PCPs on FIB assay performance cannot be ruled out. Our observations are relevant for other intensively used bathing sites; detailed investigations on persistence and assay performance of the FIB in response to different ingredients of PCPs are highly recommended. We conclude that for future festivals at this river or other festivals taking place under similar settings, a more effective management is necessary to reduce deterioration in water quality and minimise health risks.
Stichwort
faecal pollutionpersistencepersonal care productsriver watershort-term event
Objekt-Typ
Sprache
Englisch [eng]
Persistent identifier
phaidra.univie.ac.at/o:2072010
Erschienen in
Titel
Journal of Water and Health
Band
21
Ausgabe
12
ISSN
1477-8920
Erscheinungsdatum
2023
Seitenanfang
1898
Seitenende
1907
Publication
IWA Publishing
Erscheinungsdatum
2023
Zugänglichkeit
Rechteangabe
© 2023 The Authors
Universität Wien | Universitätsring 1 | 1010 Wien | T
+43-1-4277-0