Escherichia coli survival and transfer in estuarine bed sediments

Abstract

Bed sediment resuspension is a potential source of faecal microorganisms in the water column of estuaries. As such, it is important to identify the survival of faecal microorganisms in these bed sediments and understand how bed sediment resuspension impacts the quality of estuarine waters. This study explores the effect of bed sediment resuspension on Escherichia coli concentrations in the water column and the persistence of E. coli in the water column and bed sediments of the Yarra River estuary in South-Eastern Australia. Using sediment cores, we identified that the resuspension of both surficial sediments (e.g., by tidal movements) and deeper bed sediments (e.g., by large storm events) ca..