IMPACTS OF WASTEWATER TREATMENT PLANTS EFFLUENT ON MICROBIAL COMMUNITY OF RECEIVING WATER BODIES

LI Yunong; WEN Donghui

doi:10.13205/j.hjgc.202409016

Volume 42 Issue 9

Sep. 2024

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LI Yunong, WEN Donghui. IMPACTS OF WASTEWATER TREATMENT PLANTS EFFLUENT ON MICROBIAL COMMUNITY OF RECEIVING WATER BODIES[J]. ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING , 2024, 42(9): 167-179. doi: 10.13205/j.hjgc.202409016

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LI Yunong, WEN Donghui. IMPACTS OF WASTEWATER TREATMENT PLANTS EFFLUENT ON MICROBIAL COMMUNITY OF RECEIVING WATER BODIES[J]. ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING , 2024, 42(9): 167-179. doi: 10.13205/j.hjgc.202409016

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IMPACTS OF WASTEWATER TREATMENT PLANTS EFFLUENT ON MICROBIAL COMMUNITY OF RECEIVING WATER BODIES

doi: 10.13205/j.hjgc.202409016

LI Yunong,
WEN Donghui^,

College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China

Received Date: 2024-08-09
Available Online: 2024-12-02

Abstract

Abstract

Wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) serve as crucial nodes connecting the material cycles in human society and the natural environment. Modern WWTPs can remove a great amount of pollutants from wastewater; however, residual contaminants and microbial cells still enter the natural environment through the effluent discharge, causing significant environmental disruption to the receiving water bodies. Microorganisms drive the biogeochemical cycling of matter, and the microbial communities in receiving waters are at the forefront of dealing with the effluent disturbances. This paper summarizes the impact of WWTPs effluent discharge on the microbial communities of receiving waters from three perspectives: microbial community structure, response strategies, and the spread of pathogens and antibiotic resistance. Effluent discharge significantly alters the structure of microbial communities in receiving waters. In response to such disturbances, the microbes in turn adapt their nutrient utilization strategies and interspecies relationships, so that pollutant metabolism functions become enriched in the communities. WWTPs effluent is also regarded as an important point-source of pathogens and drug-resistant bacteria to the water environment, and to some extent promotes the spread of waterborne diseases and antimicrobial resistance possessed by the microbial communities. A deep understanding of the impact of WWTPs effluent on the microbial communities of receiving waters is the scientific foundation for managing WWTPs effluent discharge and controlling associated health risks.
- wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs),
- microbial community diversity,
- community structure,
- functional composition,
- ecological health risk

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References(89)

References

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