THE USE OF F-SPECIFIC COLIPHAGES TO ASSESS EFFLUENT TREATMENT AND REUSE SCHEMES

摘要

This study reports on the use of naturally occurring F-specific coliphages, as well as spiked MS-2 phage, to evaluate a land-based effluent treatment/reuse system and an effluent irrigation scheme. Both the natural phages and the spiked MS-2 phage indicated that the effluent treatment/reuse system (FILTER - Filtration and Irrigated cropping for Land Treatment and Effluent Reuse) achieved a reduction in phage levels over the treatment system by one to two log_(10). FILTER reduced natural F-specific phage numbers from around 10~3 to below 10~2 100-ml~(-1) and the spiked phage from 10~5 to around 10~4 100-ml~(-1) (incoming compared with outgoing water). In the effluent irrigation scheme, phage spiked into the holding ponds dropped from 10~6 to 10~2 100-ml~(-1) after 168 h (with no detectable levels of natural F-specific phage being found prior to spiking). Only low levels of the spiked phage (10~2 gm~(-1)) could be recovered from soil irrigated with phage-spiked effluent (at 10~6 phage 100 ml~(-1)) or from fruits (around 10~2 phage per fruit) that had direct contact with soil which had been freshly irrigated with the same phage-spiked effluent.