RAPID: Mobilization and transport of microbial contaminants along Texas waterways following Hurricane Harvey

第一部分项目意义和重要性飓风哈维对德克萨斯州东南部的废水基础设施造成了前所未有的破坏，导致污水污染释放到地表水中，并有可能使微生物病原体广泛暴露于人类。这项建议旨在了解人类接触病原体的可能性，并评估飓风哈维期间废水排放的程度。将对研究期间测量的交通和其他因素进行比较，目的是建立一个预测框架，用于评估严重洪灾后的废水污染。调查将集中在德克萨斯州东南部和中部下部农村地区的较小城镇，以提供急需的数据，了解污水泄漏对较小城镇水质的影响。第二部分技术说明本研究的假设是，哈维期间和之后的污水溢出和雨水径流将高水平的潜在病原体释放到德克萨斯州的水道中。这一假设将通过评估受洪水影响的德克萨斯州东南部和中部下部农村地区受洪水影响的地表水中粪便指示细菌、人类线粒体DNA和选定的人类病原体的存在、丰度和命运来验证。具体的测量包括对粪便指示生物(大肠杆菌、肠球菌和人类特有的类杆菌)、人类线粒体DNA(MtDNA)和选定的人类病原体(E.ColiO157：H7、弯曲杆菌、弧菌)的定量分析。在水和沉积物样本中。该项目将促进对排泄物来源追踪的基本了解，并通过使用人类线粒体DNA作为排泄物污染的直接测量，扩大对排泄物指标的理解，以确定沿海和地表水的排泄物污染源。

Part I Project Significance and ImportanceHurricane Harvey has caused unprecedented damage to wastewater infrastructure in southeastern Texas, resulting in the release of sewage contamination into surface waters and the potential for widespread microbial pathogen exposure to humans. This proposal seeks to understand the potential for human exposure to pathogens and assess the extent of wastewater releases during Hurricane Harvey. Comparisons of transport and other factors measured during the study will be made with the objective of building a predictive framework for assessing wastewater contamination following severe flooding. The investigation will focus on smaller towns in southeast and lower central Texas rural locations to provide much needed and urgent data on the effects of sewage spillages on the water quality of smaller towns.Part II Technical DescriptionThe hypothesis of this research is that sewage overflows and stormwater runoff during and after Harvey have released high levels of potentially pathogenic organisms into Texas waterways. This hypothesis will be tested by evaluating the presence, abundance and fate of fecal indicator bacteria, human mitochondrial DNA and selected human pathogens in flood-impacted surface waters in southeast and lower central Texas rural locations. Specific measurements include the quantitative analysis of fecal indicator organisms (E. coli, Enterococci, and Human-specific Bacteroidales), together with human mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) and selected human pathogens (E. coli O157:H7, Campylobacter spp., Vibrio spp.) in water and sediment samples. This project will advance fundamental understanding of fecal source tracking and expand the understanding of fecal indicators for identifying sources of fecal contamination in coastal and surface waters through the use of human mtDNA as a direct measure of fecal contamination.