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© 2024 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Notwithstanding the ProQuest Terms and Conditions, you may use this content in accordance with the terms of the License.

Abstract

Pathogenic microorganisms released onto the soil from point or diffuse sources represent a public health concern. They can be transported by rainwater that infiltrates into subsoil and reach the groundwater where they can survive for a long time and contaminate drinking water sources. As part of the SCA.Re.S. (Evaluation of Health Risk Related to the Discharge of Wastewater on the Soil) project, we reviewed a selection of field-scale studies that investigated the factors that influenced the fate of microorganisms that were transported from the ground surface to the groundwater. A total of 24 studies published between 2003 and 2022 were included in the review. These studies were selected from the PubMed and Web of Science databases. Microbial contamination of groundwater depends on complex interactions between human activities responsible for the release of contaminants onto the soil, and a range of environmental and biological factors, including the geological, hydraulic, and moisture characteristics of the media traversed by the water, and the characteristics and the viability of the microorganisms, which in turn depend on the environmental conditions and presence of predatory species. Enterococci appeared to be more resistant in the underground environment than thermotolerant coliforms and were suggested as a better indicator for detecting microbial contamination of groundwater.

Details

Title
Factors Influencing Microbial Contamination of Groundwater: A Systematic Review of Field-Scale Studies
Author
Bagordo, Francesco 1   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Brigida, Silvia 2   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Grassi, Tiziana 2   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Caputo, Maria Clementina 3   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Apollonio, Francesca 4 ; Lorenzo De Carlo 3   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Savino, Antonella Francesca 5 ; Triggiano, Francesco 4 ; Turturro, Antonietta Celeste 3 ; De Donno, Antonella 2   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Montagna, Maria Teresa 4   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; De Giglio, Osvalda 4   VIAFID ORCID Logo 

 Department of Pharmacy-Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Bari Aldo Moro, Via Orabona 4, 70125 Bari, Italy; [email protected] 
 Department of Experimental Medicine, University of Salento, Via Monteroni 165, 73100 Lecce, Italy; [email protected] (S.B.); [email protected] (A.D.D.) 
 National Research Council of Italy (CNR), Water Research Institute (IRSA), Via F. De Blasio, 5, 70132 Bari, Italy; [email protected] (M.C.C.); [email protected] (L.D.C.); [email protected] (A.C.T.) 
 Interdisciplinary Department of Medicine, University of Bari Aldo Moro, Piazza G. Cesare 11, 70124 Bari, Italy; [email protected] (F.A.); [email protected] (F.T.); [email protected] (M.T.M.); [email protected] (O.D.G.) 
 Hygiene Section, Azienda Ospedaliero Universitaria Policlinico di Bari, Piazza Giulio Cesare 11, 70124 Bari, Italy; [email protected] 
First page
913
Publication year
2024
Publication date
2024
Publisher
MDPI AG
e-ISSN
20762607
Source type
Scholarly Journal
Language of publication
English
ProQuest document ID
3059590247
Copyright
© 2024 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Notwithstanding the ProQuest Terms and Conditions, you may use this content in accordance with the terms of the License.