Rapid and Label-Free Fecal Coliform Enumeration

US Navy ships generate substantial quantities of wastewater from toilet, laundry, shower, galley and other sources. An aircraft carrier alone can generate nearly half a million gallons of wastewater per day. Due to the limited size of holding tanks, this wastewater must be discharged regularly. Current and anticipated regulations have fueled the need for shipboard wastewater treatment systems to ensure the biological oxygen demand and fecal coliform content of the effluent are below 25 mg/L and 20 cfu/100 ml respectively. Currently there are no effluent water quality sensors that are suitable for installation onboard a Military vessel. Fecal coliforms (FCs) are a class of bacteria present in feces. High levels of FCs in water provide a warning of a failure of the water treatment system and are typically correlated with the presence of pathogens. The standard method for FC determination is a bacterial culturing technique that requires a lengthy incubation period. Emerging “rapid” technologies require large and sensitive equipment and chemical labeling that are not suitable for Military deployment. The proposed research will develop an FC sensor that detects coliform bacteria providing a rapid, specific, robust, label-free, and automated detection system that requires little maintenance.