Evidence map›Paper›PMID 39471764›Full record

SynthesisWater research2025

Assessing human-source microbial contamination of stormwater in the U.S.

Jumana Alja'fari, Sybil Sharvelle, Amos Branch, Brian Pecson, Michael Jahne, Adam Olivieri, Mazdak Arabi, Jay L Garland, Raul Gonzalez

Abstract readSystematic Review
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Synthesis in Water research, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

9 authors.

Jumana Alja'fariDepartment of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Colorado State University, 700 Meridian Avenue, Fort Collins, CO 80523, USA. Electronic address: jumana.aljafari@nist.gov.
Sybil SharvelleDepartment of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Colorado State University, 700 Meridian Avenue, Fort Collins, CO 80523, USA.
Amos BranchCarollo Engineers, Inc., 2795 Mitchell Dr, Walnut Creek, CA 94598, USA.
Brian PecsonTrussell Technologies, 1939 Harrison Street, Oakland, CA 94612, USA.
Michael JahneOffice of Research and Development, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 26 West Martin Luther King Dr, Cincinnati, OH 45268, USA.
Adam OlivieriEnvironmental and Public Health Engineering, Inc., 1410 Jackson Street, Oakland, CA 94612, USA.
Mazdak ArabiDepartment of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Colorado State University, 400 Isotope Drive, Fort Collins, CO 80521, USA.
Jay L GarlandOffice of Research and Development, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 26 West Martin Luther King Dr, Cincinnati, OH 45268, USA.
Raul GonzalezH(2)O Molecular, 6746 Edinburgh Court, San Diego, CA 92120, USA.

Funding

Intramural EPA EPA999999
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Stormwater capture and use (SCU) projects have the potential to provide a significant portion of municipal water demand. However, uncertainty about the degree of microbial contamination in stormwater and the required treatment is a barrier for implementation of SCU projects. Stormwater runoff could become contaminated with human fecal matter in areas with deteriorating infrastructure where raw wastewater exfiltrates from sewer networks to stormwater collection networks, homeless encampments exist, or sanitary sewer overflows (SSOs) occur. Estimation of human fecal contamination can inform selection of stormwater treatment targets. This study investigates stormwater microbial contamination originating from human fecal matter using observed detections and concentrations of human microbial source tracking (MST) markers and potentially human-infectious pathogens (PHIPs). First, a systematic review complied measurements of human MST markers in wet and dry weather stormwater flows and influent wastewater. In addition, measurements of viral pathogens (e.g., adenoviruses, norovirus GI+GII, and enteroviruses) and protozoan pathogens (e.g., Giardia lamblia and Cryptosporidium parvum) in wet weather flows and influent wastewater were assessed. Human MST marker and PHIP data were statistically analyzed and applied to estimate a human fecal contamination analog (HFCA) which is an estimate of the amount of human fecal matter based on relative concentrations of microbial contaminants in stormwater compared to municipal wastewater. Human MST-based HFCAs in wet and dry weather flows ranged from <10

Indexed as

Environmental MonitoringFecesHumansRainUnited StatesWastewaterWater MicrobiologyWastewaterDry weather flowsHuman fecal contamination analogHuman microbial source tracking markersPotentially human infectious pathogensStormwaterWet weather flows

Identifiers

PMID39471764
PMCPMC11783576

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.