18 - Water

Question 1

When natural disasters strike, what is the most immediate need for the population?

Answer 1

Water

Bc of waste contamination, lack of clean drinking water

Question 2

How much water was delivered to Puerto Rico in 2017 after Hurricane Maria? Lasted how long?

Answer 2

38 million water bottles

Only 3 days supply of drinking water for the 3.5 million residents

Question 3

Water footprint includes…

Answer 3

Our “physical water” and “virtual water” demands

Virtual water = all things produced, eaten or grown that require water

Question 4

Production of one kg of beef needs how much water? 1 cup of coffee?

Answer 4

1 kg beef = 15 thousand liters of water

1 cup coffee = 140 L water

Question 5

Total volume of water used in Alberta every year? Per person

Answer 5

9,891,606,000,000

per person = 2,355,144 L

Question 6

How many L of water used to produce _____ barrels of oil per day in USA

Answer 6

2.5 billion L/day to produce 12.5 million barrels/day

Question 7

What % of total global water is freshwater? What % of that makes up surface water?

Answer 7

2.5% (rest is oceans)

1.2% is surface

Slide 15

Question 8

Between now and 2050 global water demand will increase how much?

Answer 8

30%

Question 9

What % of water is consumed by agriculture? Food production is expected to increase how much by 2050?

Answer 9

70%

Expected to increase 60%

Question 10

The future global economy could be built around…

Answer 10

Environmental credits in carbon and water

Question 11

Slides 19,20

Answer 11

Global water security assessment

Question 12

Current # of people affected by water scarcity? In 2050?

Answer 12

Current ~750 million

Rise to >3 billion

Question 13

55% of India’s major cities will..

Answer 13

run dry of water in 20 years

Question 14

How many people still drink fecally contaminated water? Practice open-defecation? How many diarrheal episodes per year due to consumption of contaminated water?

Answer 14

1.8 billion still drink

1:7 people practice

60 billion episodes

Question 15

Trend in deaths due to infectious diseases in the US? Why?

Answer 15

Has been declining since 1900s
Drinking water treatment and sanitation started being developed in 1850 = control of infectious disease

Question 16

Water-related exposure pathways (6)

Answer 16

• drinking water (municipal, groundwater, ice)
• recreational water (swimming pools, beaches)
• irrigation water (foodborne infections)
• aerosols (humidifiers, AC, toilet flush)
• ambient water (floods, agricultural prod, recreation)
• recycled/reused water (wastewater, stormwater, rainwater)

Question 17

Three classifications of water-related microbial diseases

Answer 17

• water contact disease
• water vectored disease
• waterborne disease

Question 18

What is a water contact disease? E.g.

Answer 18

Disease acquired through physical contact with contaminated water

e.g. Schistosoma spp (Human schistosomiasis)

Question 19

Describe Human schistosomiasis pathogens

Answer 19

S. japonicum, S. mansoni

Parasitic worm, lives in hepatic portal vein
Produces eggs for 20 years, gets pushed into intestinal tract

Slide 29, 30

Question 20

Impacts of schistosomiasis

Answer 20

• 235 million active cases worldwide
• children, women and workers associated with water are high risk
• children most affected = poor school performance, stunted growth

Question 21

What is a water vectored disease? Examples?

Answer 21

Disease transmitted by vectors which depend on water for their development

e.g.
- malaria
- Onchocerca volvulus
- Heart worm (dogs)
- mosquito transmitted pathogens (yellow fever, dengue)

Question 22

Two types of waterborne diseases with examples

Answer 22

a. waterborne diseases acquired through inhalation (e.g. Legionella pneumophila, non-tuberculosis Mycobacterium)

b. Waterborne diseases acquired by ingestion (pathogens associated with fecal-oral transmission e.g. Cryptosporidium, E. coli… or non-fecal sources e.g. Dracunculus medinensis)

Question 23

Most common pathogens causing infectious disease outbreaks related to drinking water in Canada

Answer 23

Giardia (34%)
Campylobacter sp (16%)
Salmonella (11%)
Cryptosporidium (10%)

Question 24

Origin of microbial indicators of water quality

Answer 24

• Monitoring bacterial contamination of drinking water proposed in 1885 by Frankland after London cholera outbreak
• in 1892, Schardinger proposed E. coli as indicator of fecal contamination of water
• little has changed for 100 yrs

Question 25

Why is E coli used as microbial indicator of water? Characteristics?

Answer 25

• subgroup of fecal coliforms
• lives in intestines of warm blooded animals
• excreted in large quantities in feces
• limited growth in environment
• easy to grow in lab
• highly susceptible to disinfection
• produces enzyme B-glucuronidase used in identification

Question 26

How do we test water for E coli? How does it work?

Answer 26

Defined Substrate Testing
- blue/fluorescent = E coli
- colourless = negative
- yellow = coliforms

MUG is molecule that is source of carbon for energy metabolism
Only bacteria w B-glucuronidase can cleave MUG molecule and use as C source

Question 27

What is MPN

Answer 27

Most probably number
Number of e coli present in water in a defined substrate test

Question 28

Where is water testing done in Alberta? Test how many samples?

Answer 28

In the Environmental Microbiology Program (2 labs in EDM & CALG)
Test >240,000 water samples across province every year