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ARS Home » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #114719
Title: SUBSURFACE TRANSPORT OF CRYPTOSPORIDIUM FROM PASTURES TO SURFACE WATERS: III. HYDROLOGIC SYSTEM.

Author
item YOUNG, M - GA INST OF TECHNOLOGY
item Endale, Dinku
item PENNELL, K - GA INST OF TECHNOLOGY
item Steiner, Jean
item Fisher, Dwight
item AMIRTHARAJAH, A - GA INST OF TECHNOLOGY

Submitted to: Agronomy Abstracts
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 10/18/2000
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Little is known about the transport of Cryptosporidium parvum oocysts through soil and into surface waters. The study site located at the J. Phil Campbell, Sr., Natural Resource Conservation Center, USDA-ARS, Watkinsville, GA. consisted of a 40 m by 30 m plot immediately above a perennial spring draining the area. The site was instrumented to conduct a water budget analysis to evaluate soil-water and particle translocation. Spring flow response to precipitation was found to depend strongly on antecedent water content. Wetter conditions led to response times of less than 1 h, with soil water contributing a large percentage of the increased flow. Transport experiments were conducted using bromide and latex polystyrene microspheres as surrogates for oocysts. Though drought conditions existed, microspheres were obtained in fluid samples collected at the spring, at the water table and within the soil profile. The presence of microspheres in the spring water indicates that they migrated rapidly through the unsaturated soil and groundwater. The soil water balance and particle transport analysis will be presented, and the implications of rapid transport of particles through soil will be discussed.