Author ORCID Identifier

https://orcid.org/0009-0009-0477-7355

Semester

Fall

Date of Graduation

2025

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Type

MS

College

Statler College of Engineering and Mineral Resources

Department

Civil and Environmental Engineering

Committee Chair

Emily Garner

Committee Member

Kevin Orner

Committee Member

Benjamin Davis

Abstract

The emergence of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) has quickly become one of the largest global health and development threats. Research related to environmental modes of transmission of AMR has accelerated in recent years, and the US Environmental Protection Agency is particularly interested in this emerging contaminant. Knowledge of how onsite (decentralized) wastewater treatment systems contribute to this issue is lacking, so this research serves to analyze and quantify the environmental dissemination of AMR and fecal contamination from these sources at a watershed level while using statistical analysis to assess relationships between physiochemical, spatial, and sampling parameters. This research surveyed four watersheds in Monongalia and Marion counties in northern West Virginia containing no centralized wastewater infrastructure. Surface water samples were taken from three sample sites within each of these watersheds over a period of six months. Presence and abundance of fecal contamination within samples was determined using qPCR targeting the human fecal marker HF183 and culture-based methods examining Escherichia coli and Enterococcus faecium. Antibiotic resistance within samples was determined by culturing E. coli and E. faecium from samples on medias amended with cefotaxime, vancomycin, and erythromycin. Fecal contamination, including that from humans, was discovered in amounts harmful to human health in the context of recreational water use in all watersheds. Antibiotic-resistant bacteria were also found in all watersheds, with rainfall acting as a significant indicator of resistance. Significant differences were discovered between individual sites and watersheds in terms of HF183 abundance and fecal indicator bacteria. Abundance of HF183 and fecal indicator bacteria were found to be closely linked while neither were significantly related to NPDES wastewater discharge density. This indicated that unregistered human waste discharges in these watersheds could be directly affecting surface water fecal contamination and loading of antibiotic resistance. A closer examination of one of the study’s watersheds revealed a significant relationship between density of structures and the abundance of HF183, further indicating that unregistered discharges may be affecting the safety of surface water in rural watersheds. This study establishes a greater understanding of the extent of fecal contamination and antibiotic resistance in West Virginia’s rural watersheds and how onsite treatment and unregistered discharges can affect the safety of surface waters.

Download

Share

COinS