Transport of MS-2 virus through saturated soil columns

Ground-water recharge and septic tank releases are sources of viruses that can contaminate ground water. This study was designed to characterize the movement of MS-2 virus, through two saturated, sandy soils. Virus suspended in tap water was used to conduct adsorption and tracer experiments in soil columns at 4 and 24 0C. Results that showed adsorption of virus ranged from 0 to 68% were significantly less than the previously reported adsorption of human enteric viruses to soils. The movement of MS-2 through soil columns was compared to that of the conservative tracer bromide. MS-2 moved at approximately the same mean velocity as the water and the bromide, unlike the greater mean velocity for MS-2 observed in a previous study. The low dispersion observed in these tracer studies may be attributable to the relatively fine grain-size of the soils under study.hydrology collectio