PLOS water最新文献

{"title":"Precipitation impacts the physicochemical water quality and abundance of microbial source tracking markers in urban Texas watersheds","authors":"K. K. Vadde, Sina V. Moghadam, A. Jafarzadeh, A. Matta, Duc C. Phan, Drew Johnson, V. Kapoor","doi":"10.1371/journal.pwat.0000209","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pwat.0000209","url":null,"abstract":"This study investigated the sources of fecal pollution in surface and groundwaters collected from three urban watersheds in Texas during dry and wet weather and identified the impact of precipitation on water quality. Water samples (n = 316 and 107 for dry and wet events, respectively) were collected biweekly from eight sampling sites (6 sites from creeks and ponds, and 2 well sites) during two-year monitoring and analyzed for six physico-chemical parameters and ten qPCR-based assays targeting general (E. coli, Enterococcus, and universal Bacteroidales), human (BacHum and HF183), animal (Rum2Bac, BacCow, BacCan), and avian (Chicken/Duck-Bac and GFD) fecal markers. Elevated concentrations of NO3-N and NO2-N were observed in ponds and creeks sites during wet weather. Fecal markers analysis indicated higher concentrations of Rum2Bac, BacCow, and BacCan markers in most of pond and creek sites under wet weather, suggesting stormwater runoff contributed to non-point sources of fecal contamination by animal sources. Furthermore, sporadically higher concentrations of these markers were detected at groundwater sampling sites, demonstrating the significant human health risk. Multivariate statistical analysis such as cluster analysis (CA) and principal coordinate analysis (PCoA) was performed to identify relationship between sampling sites; while CA majorly classified ponds, creeks, and well sites separately, PCoA identified similarities in water quality characteristics between waters of wells with ponds and creeks. Overall, results indicate ruminant and dog fecal contamination is a major concern during storm events, consequently impacting surface and groundwater quality of the study.","PeriodicalId":93672,"journal":{"name":"PLOS water","volume":"127 3","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139832510","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Assessing inequalities in urban water security through geospatial analysis","authors":"Juliana Marçal, Junjie Shen, Blanca Antizar-Ladislao, David Butler, Jan Hofman","doi":"10.1371/journal.pwat.0000213","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pwat.0000213","url":null,"abstract":"Water security, which is key for sustainable development, has been broadly investigated through different spatial scales, time frames and perspectives, as a multi-dimensional concept. Fast growth and the diversity of the urban environment add to the challenges of reaching good levels of water security in cities. Yet, few studies have focused on evaluating the heterogeneous distribution of water security in urban areas, which is a key step to highlight where inequalities in large cities are present and how to best guide interventions. The objective of this research is to investigate the spatial heterogeneity of urban water security as well as quantifying inequalities using the new assessment presented in this paper. A holistic indicator-based evaluation framework to intra-urban sectors of the city of Campinas in Brazil is applied, followed by an inequality analysis to describe the distribution of water security aspects. A spatial correlation analysis is then carried out to identify patterns for high inequality indicators. Results show that even though Campinas has established good overall water security conditions, spatial heterogeneity is still noticeable in the urban area. Quantification of inequality by the Theil index highlighted aspects, such as vegetation cover, social green areas, and wastewater collection, that are inequitably distributed in the urban area. The subsequent analysis of spatial patterns exposed areas on the outskirts of the city where infrastructure challenges and social vulnerability coincide. This novel approach has been therefore successfully validated in a city in Brazil, and it has been demonstrated that our water security assessment framework identifies what are the main water security challenges and where they are in the city. For the first time we show that associating spatial and inequality analysis with conventional evaluation of urban water security has the potential to help target areas in need and tackle specific water security issues in the urban area. This is crucial to inform urban planning and policy making for a sustainable and inclusive urban water management strategy.","PeriodicalId":93672,"journal":{"name":"PLOS water","volume":"49 8","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139880260","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Assessing inequalities in urban water security through geospatial analysis","authors":"Juliana Marçal, Junjie Shen, Blanca Antizar-Ladislao, David Butler, Jan Hofman","doi":"10.1371/journal.pwat.0000213","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pwat.0000213","url":null,"abstract":"Water security, which is key for sustainable development, has been broadly investigated through different spatial scales, time frames and perspectives, as a multi-dimensional concept. Fast growth and the diversity of the urban environment add to the challenges of reaching good levels of water security in cities. Yet, few studies have focused on evaluating the heterogeneous distribution of water security in urban areas, which is a key step to highlight where inequalities in large cities are present and how to best guide interventions. The objective of this research is to investigate the spatial heterogeneity of urban water security as well as quantifying inequalities using the new assessment presented in this paper. A holistic indicator-based evaluation framework to intra-urban sectors of the city of Campinas in Brazil is applied, followed by an inequality analysis to describe the distribution of water security aspects. A spatial correlation analysis is then carried out to identify patterns for high inequality indicators. Results show that even though Campinas has established good overall water security conditions, spatial heterogeneity is still noticeable in the urban area. Quantification of inequality by the Theil index highlighted aspects, such as vegetation cover, social green areas, and wastewater collection, that are inequitably distributed in the urban area. The subsequent analysis of spatial patterns exposed areas on the outskirts of the city where infrastructure challenges and social vulnerability coincide. This novel approach has been therefore successfully validated in a city in Brazil, and it has been demonstrated that our water security assessment framework identifies what are the main water security challenges and where they are in the city. For the first time we show that associating spatial and inequality analysis with conventional evaluation of urban water security has the potential to help target areas in need and tackle specific water security issues in the urban area. This is crucial to inform urban planning and policy making for a sustainable and inclusive urban water management strategy.","PeriodicalId":93672,"journal":{"name":"PLOS water","volume":"1005 ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139820451","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Precipitation impacts the physicochemical water quality and abundance of microbial source tracking markers in urban Texas watersheds","authors":"K. K. Vadde, Sina V. Moghadam, A. Jafarzadeh, A. Matta, Duc C. Phan, Drew Johnson, V. Kapoor","doi":"10.1371/journal.pwat.0000209","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pwat.0000209","url":null,"abstract":"This study investigated the sources of fecal pollution in surface and groundwaters collected from three urban watersheds in Texas during dry and wet weather and identified the impact of precipitation on water quality. Water samples (n = 316 and 107 for dry and wet events, respectively) were collected biweekly from eight sampling sites (6 sites from creeks and ponds, and 2 well sites) during two-year monitoring and analyzed for six physico-chemical parameters and ten qPCR-based assays targeting general (E. coli, Enterococcus, and universal Bacteroidales), human (BacHum and HF183), animal (Rum2Bac, BacCow, BacCan), and avian (Chicken/Duck-Bac and GFD) fecal markers. Elevated concentrations of NO3-N and NO2-N were observed in ponds and creeks sites during wet weather. Fecal markers analysis indicated higher concentrations of Rum2Bac, BacCow, and BacCan markers in most of pond and creek sites under wet weather, suggesting stormwater runoff contributed to non-point sources of fecal contamination by animal sources. Furthermore, sporadically higher concentrations of these markers were detected at groundwater sampling sites, demonstrating the significant human health risk. Multivariate statistical analysis such as cluster analysis (CA) and principal coordinate analysis (PCoA) was performed to identify relationship between sampling sites; while CA majorly classified ponds, creeks, and well sites separately, PCoA identified similarities in water quality characteristics between waters of wells with ponds and creeks. Overall, results indicate ruminant and dog fecal contamination is a major concern during storm events, consequently impacting surface and groundwater quality of the study.","PeriodicalId":93672,"journal":{"name":"PLOS water","volume":"41 1-2","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139892783","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Water resource sustainability: Challenges, opportunities and research gaps in the English-speaking Caribbean Small Island Developing States","authors":"M. Mycoo, R. Roopnarine","doi":"10.1371/journal.pwat.0000222","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pwat.0000222","url":null,"abstract":"Small Island Developing States (SIDS) face multiple developmental challenges including the adverse impacts of climate change. Among these complex challenges is the critical issue of devising strategies and plans to achieve water resource sustainability. The combined effects of hydro-climatic hazards such as droughts, rising sea levels, floods and increasing socio-economic pressures have already begun to adversely impact on SIDS water resources. This review article examined studies on ten English-speaking Caribbean SIDS to explore challenges and opportunities for enhancing water resource sustainability in the Caribbean and to identify emerging research gaps. A desk review and synthesis of existing data and available literature including reports, policy documents, peer-reviewed journal articles and books published over the last ten years were conducted to highlight research gaps in water resource sustainability. The conclusion presents a way forward for SIDS to cope with the consequences of climate change on their vital water resources. The findings from this paper can inform regional polices, strategies and plan and direct research to critical areas where information is needed to support evidenced-based decision making. The review is useful for academics, policymakers and practitioners.","PeriodicalId":93672,"journal":{"name":"PLOS water","volume":"35 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-01-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139601098","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Shifting formal education toward hydrosocial and hydrorelational learning","authors":"D. McMartin, A. Sammel, Lisa M. Watson","doi":"10.1371/journal.pwat.0000218","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pwat.0000218","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":93672,"journal":{"name":"PLOS water","volume":"109 17","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-01-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139614397","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Nitrate in drinking water and pregnancy outcomes: A narrative review of epidemiological evidence and proposed biological mechanisms","authors":"Hana Royal, Andrea ‘t Mannetje, Simon Hales, Jeroen Douwes, Max Berry, Tim Chambers","doi":"10.1371/journal.pwat.0000214","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pwat.0000214","url":null,"abstract":"There is emerging evidence of an association between nitrate contamination in drinking water and adverse pregnancy outcomes. Few studies have discussed the evidence in the context of plausible biological mechanisms. We performed a narrative review of the current evidence investigating associations between nitrate in drinking water and the risk of adverse pregnancy outcomes with a focus on congenital anomalies (CA) and preterm birth (PTB). We also reviewed evidence and discuss several biological mechanisms that may explain the observed associations. We reviewed cohort and case-control epidemiological studies assessing associations between maternal nitrate exposure and adverse pregnancy outcomes published until January 2023. Three plausible mechanisms may explain how maternal exposure to nitrate may impact pregnancy outcomes, which include the formation of N-nitroso compounds (NOC), thyroid dysfunction and oxidative stress. For CA, seven studies were included (two cohort and five case-control studies). The strongest associations observed in epidemiological studies were for neural tube defects. Inconsistent positive and negative associations were observed for anomalies of the limb, eye, ear, face and neck. Of the four PTB studies (all cohort studies), three of the largest cohort studies observed associations between PTB with nitrate levels >5 mg/L while one small cohort study did not. Emerging epidemiological evidence has observed a potential increased risk of adverse pregnancy outcomes with elevated maternal nitrate exposure in drinking water. There are also plausible biological mechanisms to support this association. However, the current evidence lacks homogeneity and additional longitudinal evidence with robust exposure asssessments is required. Given the increasing concentrations of nitrate contamination in drinking water in many countries, and the adverse effects observed at concentrations below the current regulatory standard, a further precautionary approach should be adopted until futher evidence emerges.","PeriodicalId":93672,"journal":{"name":"PLOS water","volume":" 743","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-01-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139617439","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Geologic predictors of drinking water well contamination in North Carolina","authors":"Taylor R. Alvarado, Robert E. Austin, Phillip J. Bradley, Lauren A. Eaves, Rebecca C. Fry, Andrew George, Kathleen M. Gray, Jason A. Osborne, Miroslav Stýblo, David S. Vinson, Owen W. Duckworth","doi":"10.1371/journal.pwat.0000194","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pwat.0000194","url":null,"abstract":"More than 200 million people worldwide, including 11 million in the US, are estimated to consume water containing arsenic (As) concentrations that exceed World Health Organization and US EPA standards. In most cases, the As found in drinking water wells results from interactions between groundwater and geologic materials (geogenic contamination). To that end, we used the NCWELL database, which contains chemical information for 117,960 private drinking wells across North Carolina, to determine the spatial distribution of wells containing As contaminated water within geologic units. Specific geologic units had large percentages (up to 1 in 3) of wells with water exceeding the EPA As maximum contaminant level (MCL, 10 μg/L), both revealing significant variation within areas that have been previously associated with As contamination and identifying as yet unidentified problematic geologic units. For the 19 geologic units that have >5% of wells that contain water with As concentrations in exceedance of 10 μg/L, 12 (63%) are lithogenically related to the Albemarle arc, remnants of an ancient volcanic island, indicating the importance of volcanogenic materials, as well as recycled (eroded and deposited) and metamorphosed volcanogenic material. Within geologic units, wells that have As concentrations exceeding 10 μg/L tended to have pH values greater than wells with As concentrations less than 10 μg/L, emphasizing the importance of the extent of interaction between groundwater and geologic materials. Using census information with the geologic-based exceedance percentages revealed the importance of regional geology on estimates of population at risk compared to estimates based on county boundaries. Results illustrate that relating As contamination to geologic units not only helps explain sources of geogenic contamination but sharpens the identification of communities at risk for exposure and further illuminates problematic areas through geologic interpretation.","PeriodicalId":93672,"journal":{"name":"PLOS water","volume":"34 5","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-01-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139533919","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Water distribution pipe lifespans: Predicting when to repair the pipes in municipal water distribution networks using machine learning techniques","authors":"Nacer Farajzadeh, Nima Sadeghzadeh, Nastaran Jokar","doi":"10.1371/journal.pwat.0000164","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pwat.0000164","url":null,"abstract":"Water is one of the essential matters that keeps living species alive; yet, the lifespan of pipes has two direct impacts on wasting water in very great amounts: pipe leakages and pipe bursts. Consequently, the proper detection of aged pipes in the water distribution networks has always been an issue in overcoming the problem. This makes water pipe monitoring an important duty of municipalities. Traditionally, leakages and bursts were only detected visually or through reports in local areas, leading municipalities to change the old pipes. Although this helps to fix the issue, a more desired way is to perhaps let officials know about the possibilities of such problems in advance by predicting which pipes are aged, so they can prevent the wastage. Therefore, to automate the detection process, in this study, we take the initial steps to predict the pipes needing repair in a particular area using machine learning methods. We first obtain a private dataset provided by the municipality of Saveh, Iran which outlines pipes that were damaged previously. We then train three machine learning algorithms to predict whether a set of pipes in an area is prone to damage. To achieve this, One-Class (OC) Classification methods such as OC-SVM, Isolation Forest, and Elliptic Envelope are used and they achieved the highest accuracy of 0.909. This study is of value since it requires zero additional devices (i.e., sensors).","PeriodicalId":93672,"journal":{"name":"PLOS water","volume":"40 4","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-01-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139442560","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Hydrometeorology and geography affect hospitalizations for waterborne infectious diseases in the United States: A retrospective analysis.","authors":"Victoria D Lynch, Jeffrey Shaman","doi":"10.1371/journal.pwat.0000206","DOIUrl":"10.1371/journal.pwat.0000206","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Meteorology, hydroclimatology, and drinking water infrastructure influence the transmission of waterborne infectious diseases in the United States, but their roles are not well-understood and may vary by pathogen type or geographic region. Waterborne pathogens can cause severe intestinal, respiratory, or systemic infections in vulnerable people. Identifying the mechanisms that underlie contamination events and disease transmission is particularly important given that climate change may lead to more extreme floods, droughts, and seasonal precipitation. The association of meteorological variables, drinking water source, geographic region, and location (rural/urban) with hospitalizations for 12 waterborne bacterial, parasitic, and viral infections was examined using 12 years of hospitalization data from 516 hospitals in 25 states. A multimodel inference approach was used to identify the most highly-weighted explanatory variables and these were included in a generalized linear mixed model (GLMM) framework. There was a 16% (95% CI: 8%-24%) decrease in hospitalizations for the bacterial pathogen group in urban compared to rural areas; for <i>Campylobacter</i>, specifically, there was a 31% (95% CI: 9%-53%) decrease in urban areas, a 27% (95% CI: 6%-48%) decrease associated with drinking water from surface water sources, and an 11% (95% CI: 4%-17%) increase with a 1-standard deviation (SD) increase in runoff. Parasitic hospitalizations increased 9% (95% CI: 4%-15%) with a 1-SD increase in precipitation, predominantly driven by <i>Cryptosporidium</i> hospitalizations. Legionnaires' disease increased 124% (95% CI: 90%-157%) with a 1-SD increase in soil moisture. Associations between hospitalization rates and meteorological conditions, location, and drinking water source varied among the specific pathogens; the pathogen-group level analyses masked several of these findings and were largely uninformative. Precipitation, runoff, and rural locations were positively associated with hospitalizations for some enteric bacterial and parasitic infections; conversely, hospitalizations for biofilm-forming bacterial infections were associated with soil moisture and hospitalization rates were higher in urban areas.</p>","PeriodicalId":93672,"journal":{"name":"PLOS water","volume":"3 8","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.8,"publicationDate":"2024-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12392087/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144982138","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}