Abundance of pathogenic bacteria and viral indicators in chlorinated effluents produced by four wastewater treatment plants in the Gauteng Province, South Africa

Abstract

The failure of South African wastewater treatment plants to produce effluents of a high microbiological quality is a matter of great concern in terms of the pollution of water resources. This study aimed at assessing the effectiveness of 4 wastewa ter treatment plants in the Gauteng Province, namely the Zeekoegat, Baviaanspoort, Rayton and Refilwe Water Care Works (WCW), in the removal of pathogenic bacteria and viral indicators. Also taken into consideration were free chlorine concen trations and turbidity levels, which were measured using standard methods. Conventional methods and/or polymerase chain reaction (PCR) techniques were used to detect and identify pathogenic bacteria and coliphages. The turbidity ranged from 2.39 to 62.40 NTU and the concentrations of free chlorine ranged from 0.03 to1.60 mg∙ℓ-1 for all plants.

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