Sewage fungus

A photo of sewage fungus (brown/white 'cotton wool' like blanket over a riverbed)
A photo of sewage fungus found in the River Crane (London, England)

Sewage fungus[1] (also known as undesirable river biofilms, URBs) is a polymicrobial biofilm (a microbial mat) that proliferates in saprobic rivers[2] and has been frequently used as a bioindicator[3][4] of organic river pollution for the past century.[5] Its presence has been strongly associated with discharges of untreated or inadequately treated sewage,[6][7][8][9] yet its presence extends beyond these areas, with contributors including airport de-ice fluid runoff,[10][11][12] papermill effluents,[13] and agricultural runoff.[14][15]

The name "sewage fungus" is somewhat of a misnomer,[5] as these growths are not primarily fungal in nature. Instead, they are complex polymicrobial mats bound within a matrix of extracellular polymeric substances. The bacterial taxa most frequently associated with this phenomenon include Sphaerotilus natans, Zoogloea spp., Beggiatoa spp., and Rhodoferax spp.[11][16][17]

  1. ^ Exton, Ben; Hassard, Francis; Medina-Vaya, Angel; Grabowski, Robert C. (April 2024). "Undesirable river biofilms: The composition, environmental drivers, and occurrence of sewage fungus". Ecological Indicators. 161: 111949. doi:10.1016/j.ecolind.2024.111949. ISSN 1470-160X.
  2. ^ Curtis, E.J.C. (May 1969). "Sewage fungus: Its nature and effects". Water Research. 3 (5): 289–311. Bibcode:1969WatRe...3..289C. doi:10.1016/0043-1354(69)90084-0.
  3. ^ "Freshwater Biology and Ecology Handbook". Foundation for Water Research. Retrieved 2022-08-15.
  4. ^ Quinn, McFarlane (1985). "Sewage fungus as a monitor of water quality". Biological Monitoring in Freshwaters: Proceedings of a Seminar.
  5. ^ a b Butcher, R.W. (August 1932). "Contribution to our knowledge of the ecology of sewage fungus". Transactions of the British Mycological Society. 17 (1–2): 112–IN4. doi:10.1016/S0007-1536(32)80029-X.
  6. ^ Chonova, Teofana; Labanowski, Jérôme; Cournoyer, Benoit; Chardon, Cécile; Keck, François; Laurent, Élodie; Mondamert, Leslie; Vasselon, Valentin; Wiest, Laure; Bouchez, Agnès (April 2018). "River biofilm community changes related to pharmaceutical loads emitted by a wastewater treatment plant". Environmental Science and Pollution Research. 25 (10): 9254–9264. doi:10.1007/s11356-017-0024-0. ISSN 0944-1344. PMID 28884270. S2CID 3997467.
  7. ^ Curtis, E.J.C.; Harrington, D.W. (June 1971). "The occurrence of sewage fungus in rivers in the United Kingdom". Water Research. 5 (6): 281–290. Bibcode:1971WatRe...5..281C. doi:10.1016/0043-1354(71)90173-4.
  8. ^ Harrison, Heukelekian (1958). "Slime Infestation: Literature Review". Sewage and Industrial Wastes. 30 (10): 1278–1302. JSTOR 25033719 – via JSTOR.
  9. ^ Hammond, Peter; Suttie, Michael; Lewis, Vaughan T.; Smith, Ashley P.; Singer, Andrew C. (2021-03-11). "Detection of untreated sewage discharges to watercourses using machine learning". npj Clean Water. 4 (1). doi:10.1038/s41545-021-00108-3. ISSN 2059-7037. S2CID 232173162.
  10. ^ Mericas, Dean; Sturman, Paul; Lutz, Michelle; Corsi, Steve; Cieciek, Chris; Boltz, Josh; Morgenroth, Eberhard; Airport Cooperative Research Program; Transportation Research Board (2014-11-03). Understanding Microbial Biofilms in Receiving Waters Impacted by Airport Deicing Activities. Washington, D.C.: Transportation Research Board. doi:10.17226/22262. ISBN 978-0-309-30809-0.
  11. ^ a b Exton, Benjamin; Hassard, Francis; Medina Vaya, Angel; Grabowski, Robert C. (2023-03-01). "Polybacterial shift in benthic river biofilms attributed to organic pollution – a prospect of a new biosentinel?". Hydrology Research. 54 (3): 348–359. doi:10.2166/nh.2023.114. ISSN 0029-1277. S2CID 257347315.
  12. ^ Nott, Michelle A.; Driscoll, Heather E.; Takeda, Minoru; Vangala, Mahesh; Corsi, Steven R.; Tighe, Scott W. (2020-01-22). Loiselle, Steven Arthur (ed.). "Advanced biofilm analysis in streams receiving organic deicer runoff". PLOS ONE. 15 (1): e0227567. Bibcode:2020PLoSO..1527567N. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0227567. ISSN 1932-6203. PMC 6975536. PMID 31968006.
  13. ^ Roberts, J.C. (1978). "Sewage fungus growth in rivers below papermill discharges". New Processes for Wastewater Treatment and Recovery: 140–158.
  14. ^ Rutt, G.P.; Pickering, T.D.; Reynolds, N.R.M. (1993). "The impact of livestock-farming on welsh streams: The development and testing of a rapid biological method for use in the assessment and control of organic pollution from farms". Environmental Pollution. 81 (3): 217–228. doi:10.1016/0269-7491(93)90205-3. PMID 15091808.
  15. ^ Seager, J.; Jones, F.; Rutt, G. (February 1992). "Assessment and Control of Farm Pollution". Water and Environment Journal. 6 (1): 48–53. doi:10.1111/j.1747-6593.1992.tb00737.x. ISSN 1747-6585.
  16. ^ Geatches, Gething, Rutt (2014). 'Sewage fungus': A field and microscopic guide. Environment Agency and Natural Resources Wales.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  17. ^ Curtis, E.J.C.; Curds, C.R. (December 1971). "Sewage fungus in rivers in the United Kingdom: The slime community and its constituent organisms". Water Research. 5 (12): 1147–1159. Bibcode:1971WatRe...5.1147C. doi:10.1016/0043-1354(71)90080-7.