Now, research from UTSA Assistant Professor Vikram Kapoor in civil and environmental engineering has substantiated that the storm caused high levels of fecal contamination to be introduced into waterways draining into the Gulf of Mexico and impairing surface water quality.
Kapoor’s research assessed microbial contaminants in southeast and southcentral Texas waterways following Hurricane Harvey.
"The research we conducted in the Guadalupe River after Hurricane Harvey substantiates that the large number of sewage overflows and storm-water runoff that occurred during Hurricane Harvey flooding introduced high levels of fecal bacteria into environmental waters."
The river crested at 32 feet, around 10 feet above flood stage.
The findings of this initial study will serve as the baseline information for follow-on studies to monitor existing and emerging public health risks to residents of Texas and potential long-term environmental impacts on the water resources in the impacted regions.
While Kapoor says it’s too early to tell if those beaches were impacted as a result of Hurricane Harvey, he notes that he and his students observed elevated levels of fecal bacteria at flooded sites even two to three months after Harvey.
The UTSA environmental engineering professor is hopeful that his research on the short and long-term effects of Hurricane Harvey’s flooding will lead to the development of a predictive framework to assess wastewater contamination following severe flooding.
"The results will improve how scientists evaluate the human health impacts of contaminants mobilized and deposited by floodwaters."
### Read Kapoor’s study, "Real-Time Quantitative PCR Measurements of Fecal Indicator Bacteria and Human-Associated Source Tracking Markers in a Texas River following Hurricane Harvey."
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