Application of Different Methodologies to Identify Sources of Fecal Pollution in The Rio Grande River

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The U.S.-Mexico Border region has unique problems related to water resources. The Rio Grande/Rio Bravo is the major watershed of the bi-national region. The river serves as an important natural resource for industry, agriculture, domestic water supply, recreation, and wildlife habitat fro both countries. Unfortunately, the Rio Grande is also a conduit for infectious microorganisms and toxic pollutants. A variety of activities contributing to the chemical and microbial contamination of source water have been identified and include improperly installed and maintained septic systems, landfill, injection wells, land application of waste, irrigation, runoff, and animal feed lots. This project is a collaborative effort between El Paso County Community College and the Water Quality Center at Arizona State University. The objective of this project is to conduct a comprehensive and comparative study to determine the source of fecal contamination at four sites of the Rio Grande river using 1) Antibiotic Resistance Analysis of fecal streptococci, 2) Antibiotic Resistance Analysis of E coli, 3) Ribotyping of selected E. coli isolates, and 4) Genotyping of E. coli and F-RNA bacteriophages.