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RAPID HEALTH-BASED METHOD FOR MEASURING MICROBIAL INDICATORS OF RECREATIONAL WATER QUALITY
Citation:
BRENNER, K. P., R. L. CALDERON, A. P. DUFOUR, R. A. HAUGLAND, E. A. SAMS, T. J. WADE, S. SIEFRIENG, AND M. BEACH. RAPID HEALTH-BASED METHOD FOR MEASURING MICROBIAL INDICATORS OF RECREATIONAL WATER QUALITY. Presented at EPA Science Forum, Washington, DC, May 16 - 18, 2006.
Description:
Because the currently approved cultural methods for monitoring indicator bacteria in recreational water require 24 hours to produce results, the public may be exposed to potentially contaminated water before the water has been identified as hazardous. This project was initiated to evaluate rapid health-based methods that could obtain results the same day the water was collected. During the summers of 2003 and 2004, a freshwater recreational water quality study, using the rapid (results in < 2 hours) quantitative polymerase chain reaction (QPCR) method for Enterococcus detection, and a swimmer health study were conducted concurrently at four freshwater Great Lakes beaches. Water samples were collected using a modification of the new EPA water-sampling protocol. Swimmers were interviewed on the beach and telephoned 10-12 days later to determine their health status following the swimming event. The results of the study showed that the Enterococcus concentrations, obtained using the QPCR method, were significantly correlated with swimming-associated gastroenteritis. The data from this research study will be used by the EPA Office of Water to develop new health-based criteria and guidelines for recreational water quality based on "real-time" monitoring. The rapid QPCR method, which produces results within two hours of sample collection, will allow beach managers and public health officials to alert the public about potential health hazards in a timely manner, thereby reducing illness from recreational water use.