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CRYPTOSPORIDIUM SOURCE TRACKING TO ENHANCE SOURCE WATER PROTECTION IMPLEMENTATION IN THE POTOMAC RIVER WATERSHED: A REGIONAL APPLIED RESEARCH EFFORTS (RARE) PROJECT
Citation:
YANG, W., P. CHEN, R. B. LANDY, C. KANETSKY, E. VILLEGAS, AND L. XIAO. CRYPTOSPORIDIUM SOURCE TRACKING TO ENHANCE SOURCE WATER PROTECTION IMPLEMENTATION IN THE POTOMAC RIVER WATERSHED: A REGIONAL APPLIED RESEARCH EFFORTS (RARE) PROJECT. Presented at U.S. EPA Region 5 Laboratory Technical Information Group Conference, Chicago, IL, April 30 - May 03, 2007.
Impact/Purpose:
1) Refine new, practical methods for the detection of CCL-related and emerging waterborne human protozoa.
2) Perform field tests of devices or methods that have been developed under this task.
3) Evaluate these methods or devices in a variety of water matrices and parasite concentrations.
This work in this task supports CCL2 and 3 and is expected to be completed by 9/07.
Description:
The Potomac River watershed is a critical drinking water supply for the Washington DC metropolitan area. In 2004, the Drinking Water Source Protection Partnership (DWSPP) was formed to help coordinate efforts by local drinking water utilities and government agencies to protect this watershed from various contaminants, including Cryptosporidium. This organism is a protozoan parasite that is excreted in feces by infected animals and humans. There are many different species of Cryptosporidium, but only two, C. parvum and C. hominis, are commonly associated with human infection. Although the current standard method used to detect Cryptosporidium in water is effective in enumerating oocysts, it cannot differentiate human from animal forms of Cryptosporidium. This limitation thus prevents the identification of specific Cryptosporidium species/genotypes that are contaminating environmental waters. Recently, a nested-PCR-based genotyping method has been developed and used to detect and identify specific Cryptosporidium species/genotypes in the watershed. Since Cryptosporidium is host specific, this technique has also been useful in tracking potential sources of Cryptosporidium contamination within the watershed. For this RARE project, a nested-PCR- method is used to detect and identify various Cryptosporidium genotypes that are present and to determine their likely sources in the Potomac River watershed. Results from this project will help DWSPP and local drinking water utilities evaluate current management practices that are aimed at minimizing Cryptosporidium contamination of their watershed.