The problem of algal bloom in the source of drinking water supply for the population

Introduction. The source of drinking water supply for the city of Chelyabinsk with a population of more than 1 million people is the Miass River, the flow of which is regulated by the Shershnevskoye and Argazinskoye reservoirs. The waters of these reservoirs are periodically subjected to increased blooming, including cyanobacterial blooming, which makes the water hazardous to human health, requiring special monitoring.

Materials and methods. The objects of research were natural water of the river. The objects of the research were natural water of the Miass River at the Shershnevskoye water reservoir in the water treatment station of the municipal unitary enterprise for water supply and sanitation industrial association “Sosnovskiye water treatment facilities” in Chelyabinsk and treated drinking water before supplying to the distribution network. The results of laboratory-instrumental studies of phytoplankton biomass, quantitative, and qualitative (species composition) of cyanobacteria for 2010–2022 were used. Determination of cyanotoxins microcystin-LR, cylindrospermopsin, anatoxin-a, saxitoxin, and beta-N-methylamine-L-alanine (BMAA) in reservoir water and drinking water supplied to the population was carried out using ready-made immunoenzyme test systems, manufactured by Eurofins Abraxis (USA) by enzyme immunoassay method.

Results. The dominant genera of cyanobacteria identified in the water of the Shershnev Reservoir were: Planktothrix, Aphanizomenon, Microcystis, and Anabaena. As a result of monitoring the water of the Shershnev Reservoir and drinking water there were detected following toxins produced by cyanobacteria: microcystin-LR, anatoxin-a, saxitoxin, cylindrospermopsin, microcystin, and β-N-methylamino-L-alanine (BMAA). The analysis of qualitative and quantitative composition of cyanobacteria and cyanotoxins allowed revealing the tendencies of “blooming” processes characteristic for this region, insufficient efficiency to the two-stage purification scheme in relation to: anatoxin-a, cylindrospermopsin, saxitoxin, and microcystin-LR.

Limitation. Lack of domestic standards and test systems with the necessary sensitivity and representativeness to expand the range of determined priority cyanotoxins in water.

Conclusion. Regional peculiarities and seasonal patterns of distribution of the consequences of cyanobacterial “blooms” have been revealed. The direction of further research may be the improvement of wastewater treatment systems and drinking water treatment systems. The obtained results can be used as a basis for development of monitoring system, including identification of priority cyanotoxins and assessment of public health risk.

Compliance with ethical standards. This study does not require the conclusion of a biomedical ethics committee or other documents.

Contribution:
Turbinsky V.V., Pushkareva M.V. – research concept and design, text writing, editing;
Bragina I.V. – concept and design of the study;
Kuz N.V. – concept and design of the study, collection and processing of material, text writing;
Sinitsyna O.O. – concept and design of the study, editing.
All authors are responsible for the integrity of all parts of the manuscript and approval of the manuscript final version.

Conflict of interest. The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Acknowledgement. The study was carried out as part of the implementation of the state program “Ensuring the chemical and biological safety of the Russian Federation” for 2021–2024.

Received: October 17, 2024 / Revised: December 13, 2024 / Accepted: December 17, 2024 / Published: December 28, 2024

1. Khodorovskaya N.I., Deryabina L.V., Kraineva S.V., Utoplennikova A.Yu. Ecological condition assessment of the Shershnevskoe reservoir under present conditions. Vestnik Chelyabinskogo gosudarstvennogo universiteta. 2013; (7): 165–7. https://elibrary.ru/pywkbh (in Russian)

2. Pavlov A.P. The problem of water quality change in the Shershnevsky reservoir. In: Proceedings of the International Scientific and Practical Conference «Ural Mining School – Regions» [Materialy Mezhdunarodnoi nauchno-prakticheskoi konferentsii «Ural’skaya gornaya shkola – regionam»]. Yekaterinburg; 2022: 255–6. https://elibrary.ru/huytdp (in Russian)

3. Kravtsova A.V., Khodorkovskaya N.I., Yachmenev V.A., Bazhenova V.V. Features of the long-term dynamics of development hydro/chemical parameters of the water of the Shershnevsk reservoir. Vodnoe khozyaistvo Rossii: problemy, tekhnologii, upravlenie. 2021; (5): 8–28. https://doi.org/10.35567/1999-4508-2021-5-1 https://elibrary.ru/orsszy (in Russian)

4. Khodorovskaya N.I., Deryabina L.V., Krayneva S.V., Moldanova L.N., Chernov K.S., Yachmenev V.A. Formation of waters quality of the Shershnevsky reservoir. Nauchnyi meditsinskii vestnik. 2016; 4(6): 66–77. https://doi.org/10.17117/nm.2016.04.066 https://elibrary.ru/xxicjt (in Russian)

5. Zakharov S.G. Natural risks of adverse events in the Chelyabinsk region. In: Proceedings of the Twelfth Regional Museum Conference «Gorokhov Readings» [Materialy dvenadtsatoi regional’noi muzeinoi konferentsii «Gorokhovskie chteniya»]. Chelyabinsk; 2021: 171–5. https://elibrary.ru/elewyu (in Russian)

6. Pryakhin E.A., Tryapitsyna G.A., Yachmenev V.A., Burmistrova A.L., Andreyev S.S., Safonova E.V., et al. Assessment of the toxic properties of cyanobacteria in the Shershnevskoye reservoir, Chelyabinsk region. Gigiena i Sanitaria (Hygiene and Sanitation, Russian journal). 2008; 87(1): 73–5. https://elibrary.ru/ilgnnn (in Russian)

7. Chorus I., Bartram J., eds. Toxic Cyanobacteria in Water: A Guide to their Public Health Consequences, Monitoring and Management. London: CRC Press; 1999. https://doi.org/10.1201/9781482295061

8. Voloshko L.N., Pinevich A.V. Diversity of the cyanobacterial toxins. Astrakhanskii vestnik ekologicheskogo obrazovaniya. 2014; (1): 68–80. https://elibrary.ru/rxbfsp (in Russian)

9. Buratti F.M., Manganelli M., Vichi S., Stefanelli M., Scardala S., Testai E., et al. Cyanotoxins: producing organisms, occurrence, toxicity, mechanism of action and human health toxicological risk evaluation. Arch. Toxicol. 2017; 91(3): 1049–130. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00204-016-1913-6

10. Devic E., Li D., Dauta A., Henriksen P., Codd G.A., Marty J.L., et al. Detection of anatoxin-a(s) in environmental samples of cyanobacteria by using a biosensor with engineered acetylcholinesterases. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 2002; 68(8): 4102–6. https://doi.org/10.1128/aem.68.8.4102-4106.2002

11. Plata-Calzado C., Prieto A.I., Cameán A.M., Jos A. Toxic effects produced by anatoxin under laboratory conditions: a review. Toxins (Basel). 2022; 14(12): 861. https://doi.org/10.3390/toxins14120861

12. Carmichael W.W., Evans W.R., Yin Q.Q., Bell P., Moczydlowski E. Evidence for paralytic shellfish poisons in the freshwater cyanobacterium Lyngbya wollei (Farlow ex Gomont) comb. nov. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 1997; 63(8): 3104–10. https://doi.org/10.1128/aem.63.8.3104-3110.1997

13. Pearson L., Mihali T., Moffitt M., Kellmann R., Neilan B. On the chemistry, toxicology and genetics of the cyanobacterial toxins, microcystin, nodularin, saxitoxin and cylindrospermopsin. Mar. Drugs. 2010; 8(5): 1650–80. https://doi.org/10.3390/md8051650

14. Aráoz R., Molgó J., Tandeau de Marsac N. Neurotoxic cyanobacterial toxins. Toxicon. 2010; 56(5): 813–28. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.toxicon.2009.07.036

15. Moreira C., Azevedo J., Antunes A., Vasconcelos V. Cylindrospermopsin: occurrence, methods of detection and toxicology. J. Appl. Microbiol. 2013; 114(3): 605–20. https://doi.org/10.1111/jam.12048

16. Yang Y., Yu G., Chen Y., Jia N., Li R. Four decades of progress in cylindrospermopsin research: The ins and outs of a potent cyanotoxin. J. Hazard. Mater. 2021; 406: 124653. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhazmat.2020.124653

17. Jonasson S., Eriksson J., Berntzon L., Spacil Z., Ilag L.L., Ronnevi L.O., et al. Transfer of a cyanobacterial neurotoxin within a temperate aquatic ecosystem suggests pathways for human exposure. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA. 2010; 107(20): 9252–7. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.0914417107

18. Porojan C., Mitrovic S.M., Yeo D.C., Furey A. Overview of the potent cyanobacterial neurotoxin β-methylamino-L-alanine (BMAA) and its analytical determination. Food Addit. Contam. Part A Chem. Anal. Control Expo. Risk Assess. 2016; 33(10): 1570–86. https://doi.org/10.1080/19440049.2016.1217070

19. Zegura B. An overview of the mechanisms of microcystin-lr genotoxicity and potential carcinogenicity. Mini Rev. Med. Chem. 2016; 16(13): 1042–62. https://doi.org/10.2174/1389557516666160308141549

20. Chen L., Xie P. Mechanisms of microcystin-induced cytotoxicity and apoptosis. Mini Rev. Med. Chem. 2016; 16(13): 1018–31. https://doi.org/10.2174/1389557516666160219130407

21. Gladkova O.V., Khodorovskaya N.I. Structure of species and ecological-geographical characteristics of the phytoplankton community of Shershnevsky reservoir in the conditions of increasing antropogenic impact. Nauchnoe obozrenie. 2019; (3): 11–6. https://elibrary.ru/cjggop (in Russian)

22. Lipaikina A.N. The ecological state of the Miass river and the Shershnevsky reservoir as sources of water supply in Chelyabinsk. In: Chemistry and Life: A Collection of Abstracts and Reports of the International Scientific and Practical Conference [Khimiya i zhizn’: sbornik tezisov i dokladov mezhdunarodnoi nauchno-prakticheskoi konferentsii]. Novosibirsk; 2011: 223–6. (in Russian)

23. Gladkova O.V., Khodorovskaya N.I., Eremkina T.V. Long-term dynamics of the phytoplankton structure of the Shershnevsky reservoir. In: Anthropogenic Impact on Aquatic Organisms and Ecosystems: A Collection of Materials of the VI All-Russian Conference on Aquatic Ecotoxicology, Dedicated to the 80th Anniversary of the Birth of Doctor of Biological Sciences, Professor B. A. Flerov, with the Invitation of Specialists from Neighboring Countries. Yaroslavl’: Filigran’; 2017: 17–21. (in Russian)

24. Chernova E.N., Russkikh Ya.V., Zhakovskaya Z.A. Toxic metabolites of blue-green algae and methods for their determination. Vestnik Sankt-Peterburgskogo universiteta. Fizika i khimiya. 2017; 4(4): 440–73. https://doi.org/10.21638/11701/spbu04.2017.408 https://elibrary.ru/ynoiki (in Russian)

25. Egorova N.A., Kuz N.V., Sinitsyna O.O. Materials for the substantiation of the hygienic standard for microcystin-LR in the water of water bodies. Gigiena i Sanitaria (Hygiene and Sanitation, Russian journal). 2018; 97(11): 1046–52. https://doi.org/10.18821/0016-9900-2018-97-11 https://elibrary.ru/slxzjn (in Russian)

26. Gayazova A.O., Abdullaev S.M. The influence of climatic variability on phytoplankton complexes of the Shershnevsky drinking reservoir (Southern Urals). Vestnik Voronezhskogo gosudarstvennogo universiteta. Seriya: Geografiya. Geoekologiya. 2019; (2): 53–64. https://elibrary.ru/esbusc (in Russian)

27. Peremykina L.A., Smirnov A.D., Gerasimov M.M., Davlyatyorova R.A., Smagin V.A. Modern water treatment technologies in Chelyabinsk. Vodosnabzhenie i sanitarnaya tekhnika. 2012; (8): 7–12. https://elibrary.ru/pbmpjr (in Russian)

28. Ghernaout D., Elboughdiri N. Eliminating cyanobacteria and controlling algal organic matter – short notes. Open Access Library J. 2020; 7(4): 1–17. https://doi.org/10.4236/oalib.1106252

29. Daly R.I., Ho L., Brookes J.D. Effect of chlorination on Microcystis aeruginosa cell integrity and subsequent microcystin release and degradation. Environ. Sci. Technol. 2007; 41(12): 4447–53. https://doi.org/10.1021/es070318s

30. Zamyadi A., Ho L., Newcombe G., Bustamante H., Prévost M. Fate of toxic cyanobacterial cells and disinfection by-products formation after chlorination. Water Res. 2012; 46(5): 1524–35. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.watres.2011.06.029

31. Fan J., Ho L., Hobson P., Brookes J. Evaluating the effectiveness of copper sulphate, chlorine, potassium permanganate, hydrogen peroxide and ozone on cyanobacterial cell integrity. Water Res. 2013; 47(14): 5153–64. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.watres.2013.05.057

32. Fan J., Hobson P., Ho L., Daly R., Brookes J. The effects of various control and water treatment processes on the membrane integrity and toxin fate of cyanobacteria. J. Hazard. Mater. 2014; 264(6): 313–22. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhazmat.2013.10.059

33. Li X., Chen S., Zeng J., Song W., Yu X. Comparing the effects of chlorination on membrane integrity and toxin fate of high- and low-viability cyanobacteria. Water Res. 2020; 177(8): 115769. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.watres.2020.115769

34. Li X., Chen S., Zeng J., Chabi K., Song W., Xian X., et al. Impact of chlorination on cell activation, toxin release and degradation of cyanobacteria of development and maintenance stage. Chem. Eng. J. 2020; 397: 125378. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cej.2020.125378