HR: 1340h
AN: H23B-1431    [Abstracts]
TI: Field Testing of a Prototype Filter System for the Removal of the Human Pathogen Giardia intestinales from Ground Water
AU: * Rust, C
EM: geogirl7048@hotmail.com
AF: Washington State University, Department of Geology, P.O. Box 642812, Webster 1228, Pullman, WA 99164-2812 United States
AU: Schulze-Makuch, D
EM: dirksm@wsu.edu
AF: Washington State University, Department of Geology, P.O. Box 642812, Webster 1228, Pullman, WA 99164-2812 United States
AU: Bowman, R
EM: bowman@nmt.edu
AF: New Mexico Tech, Department of Earth and Environmental Science, MSEC 208, 801 Leroy Place, Socorro, NM 87801 United States
AU: Meier, D
EM: dmeier@nmt.edu
AF: New Mexico Tech, Department of Earth and Environmental Science, MSEC 208, 801 Leroy Place, Socorro, NM 87801 United States
AB: Pathogenic bacteria, viruses, and protozoans tend to be negatively charged in the pH range of most ground waters. Thus, naturally occurring and modified materials such as surfactant-modified zeolites (SMZ), which have net positive surface charges and hydrophobic properties, are suitable as barriers to impede pathogen migration in aquifer systems. In our experiments SMZ has been used to remove E. coli and the bacteriophage MS-2 from sewage water with a high success rate ( E. coli 100%, MS-2 > 90%). Testing was conducted both in the laboratory and the field. Laboratory experiments were conducted to test the removal efficiency of SMZ for Giardia intestinales using the Giardia cysts and microsphere analogs. The SMZ was effective at removing Giardia intestinales cysts from the groundwater, but removal rates were not as high as for bacteria and viruses in the earlier experiments. The removal efficiency varied with the particular formulation of the SMZ used. The most effective SMZ formulation is being further tested at our field site using water amended with microspheres to simulate Giardia behavior. The field site is an existing multiple well site at the University of Idaho in Moscow. The wells are completed in the Lolo Basalt Formation; a highly heterogeneous and anisotropic fractured basalt aquifer system typical of the subsurface of most of eastern Washington and northeastern Oregon. The SMZ pathogen filter is installed directly in the well bore and the concentrations of microsphere-amended ground water are measured before and after filtration. Pumping over an extended period is continuing in order to test the lifetime of our prototype filter system. Our tests and results are targeted at developing a prototype filter system for removing a multitude of human pathogens in drinking water.
DE: 1813 Eco-hydrology
DE: 1831 Groundwater quality
DE: 1832 Groundwater transport
SC: Hydrology [H]
MN: Fall Meeting 2005