RAPID: Stagnant Flood Water Quality Improvement: Role of Sediment and Interactions between Effective Microorganisms and Indigenous Microorganisms

1219755/Khan泰国正在经历该国历史上最严重的洪水。洪水影响了曼谷的两百多万人。由于排水不畅，大部分地区的洪水都是停滞的，导致水质问题。 气味排放和水媒病原体增殖是潜在的问题。泰国政府建议使用有效的微生物来缓解这些问题。EM有液体和固体两种形式，由三种微生物组成，包括乳酸菌、酵母菌和光合细菌。 一种假设是，EM将超过作为病原体的本土微生物。 该项目的总体目标是调查沉积物的类型和数量，并研究沉积物中的微生物群落。微生物群落调查的重点是：1）本土微生物，包括负责气味产生的硫酸盐还原菌和已知的水传播病原体，如弧菌、伤寒沙门氏菌、大肠杆菌和隐孢子虫，以及2）与EM相关的微生物类群。 中心的假设是，存在的沉积物与高有机物含量与气味，沉积物窝藏硫酸盐还原菌和病原体，但不与EM相关的微生物组。PI将测试这些假设：1）确定不同地区沉积物的类型和数量（有和没有气味，有和没有EM应用）和2）确定沉积物中的微生物群落及其多样性。知识价值建议的研究将有利于实际应用的洪水水质管理，通过泥沙控制。使用EM控制硫还原细菌和水生病原体具有潜在的变革性。 这项研究的结果可以适用于不同的领域，因为EM已用于农学，食品科学和健康科学。该项目是跨学科的性质，需要在环境工程，分子微生物学和水文学的综合知识。更广泛的影响这个项目符合快速资助标准，因为需要收集沉积物样品后，洪水被排出;排水预计在2012年初发生。 拟议的研究将对洪水灾民的福祉产生影响。洪水是世界上最严重的自然灾害之一，在世界各地都有发生。通过该项目获得的信息可能有助于洪水后清理工作人员减少接触病原微生物的风险。研究结果可以应用于美国南部各州，因为气候相似，洪水淹没时间长。

1219755/KhanThailand is experiencing the worst flood in the history of the country. The flood water has affected more than two million people in Bangkok. Due to poor drainage, the flood water is stagnant in most areas leading to water quality issues. Odor emission and waterborne pathogen proliferation are potential problems. The Thai Government is suggesting the use of effective microorganisms (EMs) to alleviate the problems. EMs are available in both liquid and solid forms consisting of three microbial groups including lactic acid bacteria, yeast, and photosynthetic bacteria. A hypothesis is that EMs would overtake indigenous microorganisms that are pathogens. The overarching goals of this project are to investigate type and quantity of sediment and to study microbial community within the sediment. The microbial community investigation will focus on: 1) Indigenous microorganisms including sulfate reducing bacteria that are responsible for odor production and known waterborne pathogens such as Vibrio chlorella, Salmonella typhi, Escherichia coli, and Cryptosporidium and 2) Microbial groups associated with EMs. The central hypotheses are that the presence of sediment with high organic contents is associated with odor, and sediment harbors sulfate reducing bacteria and pathogens but not microbial groups associated with EMs. The PIs will test these hypotheses: 1) Determine the type and quantity of sediment in different areas (with and without odor and with and without EM application) and 2) Determine the microbial community and its diversity in the sediment. Intellectual MeritThe proposed research will benefit practical applications on flood water quality management via sediment control. The use of EMs for controlling sulfur reducing bacteria and waterborne pathogens is potentially transformative. Results from this research could be applicable across different fields as EMs have been used in agronomy, food science, and health sciences. The project is interdisciplinary in nature requiring integrated knowledge in environmental engineering, molecular microbiology, and hydrology.Broader ImpactsThis project meets the RAPID funding criteria because of the need to collect sediment samples after the flood water is drained; the drainage is projected to happen early in 2012. The proposed research will have an impact on the well-being of flood victims. Flooding is one of the major natural disasters and occurs throughout the world. The information gained through the project could be useful to post flood cleanup workers in term of reducing risk in contacting with pathogenic microorganisms. Research findings can be applied to the southern states of the U.S. because of similarities in climate and long periods of flood water inundation.