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Poliovirus Movement During High Rate Land Filtration of Sewage Water¹

ABSTRACT

Research with soil columns that are good models of a field ground water recharge system showed that most polioviruses are held near the soil surface. Secondary sewage effluent seeded with poliovirus type 1 (LSc) was filtered through 250-cm columns packed with calcareous sand from an area in the Salt River bed that is used for ground water recharging of secondary sewage effluent. When the concentration of poliovirus added to the sewage water was increased from 0.9 x 10² to 2.6 x 10⁴ PFU/ml, the number of viruses detected at each soil depth increased with the increasing virus concentration in the sewage water. However, the percentage of added viruses that remained at each depth was about the same for each concentration. The differences in the strength of the negative charge among members of a given viral population could account for the adsorption of some viruses near the soil surface while others move farther through the profile.

Increasing the flow rate from 0.6 to 1.2 m/day caused a virus breakthrough of <1% of the added virus. However, 99% of the viruses still were removed from the infiltrating water at flow rates as high as 12 m/day. The velocity of water movement through the soil may be the single most important factor affecting the depth of virus penetration.

Key Words: land treatment • waste water • virus • ground water recharge • secondary effluent

¹ Contribution from the USDA-SEA, AR in cooperation with the Dep. of Virology and Epidemiology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Tex. The work conducted at Baylor College of Medicine was supported by Research Grant R-805,292 from the USEPA.

² Soil Scientist, U.S. Water Conserv. Lab., 4331 E. Broadway, Phoenix, AZ 85040, and Virologist, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX 77030.

Received for publication April 19, 1979.

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