A team of researchers from the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill are tracking the presence of bacteria and viruses in North Carolina's water system after hurricane Florence. Rachel Noble, PhD, a microbiologist leading the efforts, described the process during an interview with Science.
Here are six things to know:
1. As of Sept. 17, about 23 drinking water systems in the Carolinas have halted operations, and 21 facilities were operating under boil water advisories, according to an update from the Environmental Protection Agency.
2. Bacterial pathogens like E. coli, Salmonella and Campylobacter are common in flood waters. Bacteria in the Vibrio family are found in estuaries along the Carolina coast and can be washed in after a storm. Norovirus and adenovirus are common pathogens found in sewage systems, but rarely surface unless a breach or spill occurs.
3. If people ingest or have a wound exposed to these pathogens, they can contract gastrointestinal illness like diarrhea, vomiting and nausea, which can be passed on to family members even if they were not exposed to the floodwater.
4. Current municipal water testing can take anywhere from one to two days for results, according to Dr. Noble.
"So these systems in North Carolina were probably contaminated during the storm, but there's been a lag time for us to understand the level and extent of contamination and get this information out to the public," she told Science.
5. If testing identifies contamination, the city will treat water systems through a chlorination process similar to that used for swimming pools. The chlorine sits in the system for 24 hours, which works well with familiar contaminants.
"I’m concerned about bacteria or chemicals that we might not understand from hog farms or other industrial waste. We don't understand how they're transported through water systems, and we don't understand how long they persist," Dr. Noble told Science.
6. Dr. Noble and her team are tracking how these contaminants move through water systems along the coast. They also developed a faster testing method that directly assesses contaminants' DNA in water samples. She said the testing method can identify E. colior enterococcus in about 45 minutes. They are currently working to get these tests approved for drinking water, other types of water and for shellfish.
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