research

Robust EPA grant funds collaborative study to halt the spread of diseases through wastewater

The multi-university study, co-led by University Distinguished Professor Amy Pruden, aims to track and control the spread of antibiotic-resistant bacteria from wastewater treatment plants to the environment.

Courtney Sakry

2 Dec 2024

Students collecting water samples — (From left) Doctoral students Amanda Darling and Thomas Byrne collect watershed samples. Photo courtesy of Gabriel Maldonado Rivera.

When wastewater is processed at treatment plants, most contaminants are removed before the water is released back into the environment. However, some dangerous elements can slip through, particularly antibiotic-resistant bacteria and the genes that grant them their resistance.

Once released into rivers, lakes, and soil, these bacteria can become a public health hazard, potentially making it more difficult to treat infections in both people and animals.

University Distinguished Professor Amy Pruden, along with a team led by the Water Research Foundation, is spearheading a $3 million study, funded by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), to tackle this pressing issue.

"The goal is to understand how antibiotic-resistant bacteria and antibiotic resistance genes behave once they leave wastewater treatment plants and enter the environment," Pruden said. "This will help in creating strategies to reduce the spread of antibiotic resistance."

The study will analyze data from over 100 wastewater treatment plants globally as well as gather fresh data from new field studies across the United States. The focus will be on bacteria such as Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa, both of which are becoming harder to treat because of their increasing resistance to antibiotics. Using DNA sequencing, researchers will track how resistance genes move within and between bacterial genomes, tracing them from environmental to clinical settings.

To gain a comprehensive view, the team will examine wastewater systems in a range of settings such as large urban plants, rural facilities, and even low-tech systems like lagoons and septic tanks. The team will also study how these systems handle wet weather events, such as heavy rains and flooding that can overwhelm the treatment processes.

Wastewater sample collection — (From left) Graduate student Clayton Markham and postdoctoral researcher Matthew Blair collect wastewater samples. Photo courtesy of Clayton Markham.

If successful, the study will lead to a better understanding of where antibiotic resistant infections originate and whether there are waterborne sources of their spread. Perhaps most importantly, it will help pinpoint which treatment methods are best at reducing antibiotic-resistant bacteria and resistance genes. Communities can then make informed decisions on the most effective wastewater treatment options to protect both public health and the environment.

By engaging with water utility partners and across diverse communities, the team hopes to create actionable solutions to combat antimicrobial resistance. This approach will not only improve water quality but also safeguard environmental and ecosystem health.

In addition to the team at the Water Research Foundation, Pruden is collaborating with Virginia Tech researchers Peter Vikesland and Alasdair Cohen and experts from Arizona State University, West Virginia University, the University of South Florida, Emory University, the University at Buffalo, East Tennessee State University, and the Interamerican University of Puerto Rico.

More information about the award can be found here under The Water Research Foundation, Denver, Colorado.