The goals of this dissertation were to determine the viral contribution of combined sewer overflows (CSO) to receiving waters during wet weather conditions, and to compare the use of the primary liver carcinoma (PLC/PRF/5) cells with the buffalo green monkey (BGM) cells for total culturable virus assay (TCV). To assess the contribution of CSO on the viral quality of the receiving water, samples of discharges and effluent receiving waters of three sewage reclamation plants located in Illinois were collected from June to October during two consecutive years. Samples were tested for TCV, adenovirus and norovirus. Viral concentration in the receiving water increases approximately ten times the concentration during CSO events in comparison with dry weather. An assessment comparing TCV by PLC/PRF/5 and BGM cells was also conducted using sewage samples collected before and after disinfection. PLC/PRF/5 cells detected between 10 to 50 times more viruses (?) than the BGM cells. Adenoviruses were detected in the PLC/PRF/5 cells, but not in the BGM cells. In conclusion, CSO events resulted in a significant increase in the concentration of viruses in the receiving waters and PLC/PRF/5 cells are more sensitive for enteric virus detection than the BGM cell line.
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