You are here:
Citizen-volunteer and professional monitoring to identify fecal sources of contamination in southwestern Puerto Rico
Citation:
Sotomayor-Ramirez, D., G. Martinez, L. Perez-Alegria, P. Rodriguez, AND W. Fisher. Citizen-volunteer and professional monitoring to identify fecal sources of contamination in southwestern Puerto Rico. Presented at EPA Citizen Science Workshop, San Juan, PUERTO RICO, September 11 - 12, 2014.
Impact/Purpose:
Update progress on citizen science project in SHC (RESES)
Description:
High concentrations of nutrients, fecal microorganisms, and sediments in surface waters can be a public health threat and can impact fringing coral reefs in Guánica Bay in southwestern Puerto Rico. Yet, the main factors and sources contributing to water quality degradation (e.g. the relative contribution from agriculture, urban, and suburban sources) are unknown. There is a need to create awareness and to develop mechanisms to improve surface and coastal water quality. In this project we are using 4-H program students as citizen volunteers and professional monitoring to characterize the surface water-quality status within the drainage channel from the Lajas Valley watershed and the lower reaches of Río Loco (drainage of Guánica watershed) during hydrologic low- and high-flows. Twenty-three stations have been identified within the area, each having a specific geographic delineation that will have land cover types, land-use classes, and point-source identification. Samples will be analyzed for nutrients (nitrogen and phosphorus), suspended sediments, Enterococcus (as fecal indicator of contamination) and heavy metal concentrations (as indicators of anthropogenic sources). We will quantify the presence of Bacteroidales (H183) marker, as a specific indicator of human fecal contamination. A GIS-based spatial database is being created that includes land-use, point- and non-point sources of pollution that will aid in pinpointing the sources of contamination to the drainage basins and eventually to Guánica Bay. Citizen volunteers have been trained through a six-hour theoretical and practical workshop and they have initiated sampling. We expect to provide tools that will increase public and community awareness of sanitation issues in the lower Guánica watershed through education, training, and participation in assessments of water quality and wastewater management infrastructure.