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VISUAL BEACH: SOFTWARE FOR ACHIEVING BEACH AESTHETIC AND PUBLIC HEALTH PROTECTION
Citation:
Frick, W E. AND M Molina. VISUAL BEACH: SOFTWARE FOR ACHIEVING BEACH AESTHETIC AND PUBLIC HEALTH PROTECTION. Presented at National Beaches Conference, San Diego, CA, October 13-15, 2004.
Impact/Purpose:
A main objective of this task is to combine empirical and physical mechanisms in a model, known as Visual Beach, that
â— is user-friendly
â— includes point and non-point sources of contamination
â— includes the latest bacterial decay mechanisms
â— incorporates real-time and web-based ambient and atmospheric and aquatic conditions
â— and has a predictive capability of up to three days to help avert potential beach closures.
The suite of predictive capabilities for this software application can enhance the utility of new methodology for analysis of indicator pathogens by identifying times that represent the highest probability of bacterial contamination. Successful use of this model will provide a means to direct timely collection of monitoring samples, strengthening the value of the short turnaround time for sampling. Additionally, in some cases of known point sources of bacteria, such as waste water treatment plant discharges, the model can be applied to help guide operational controls to help prevent resulting beach closures.
Description:
The Beaches Environmental Assessment and Coastal Health Act of 2000 directs the EPA to assure that 100% of significant public beaches are managed by 2008. Under the Act EPA is developing a program to monitor beach water quality and strategies for timely notification of the public when bacterial contamination poses danger to bathers. EPA and other institutions, including USGS and NOAA, are developing the Visual Beach program, software to include descriptive, diagnostic, and prognostic tools and models to help health officials and the public to better understand, address, and ultimately prevent beach closures. Work on a prototype began in Spring, 2004. Seeking to support small and large communities alike, the prototype is organized into topical areas, tabs and sub-tabs, of increasing data and resource requirements. Its entry-level descriptive component helps users acquire maps and satellite or camcorder images and identify issues likely to be relevant to the local area, thus customizing Visual Beach to local constraints and conditions. It provides access to some public health data bases and recites procedures for communicating with the public. Diagnostic tools include data links for acquiring information on contaminant sources known to affect specific beaches. It is designed to display current conditions, including sunlight intensity, stream flows, and weather, and includes calculators for estimating bacterial mortality. A subtab is dedicated to emerging PCR technology. Finally, it includes prognostic tools: adaptable empirical models will be designed to be accessible to most communities while sophisticated hydrodynamic models will provide detailed beach condition forecasts for large urban areas.