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A VISION FOR A BEACH FORECASTING TOOL
Citation:
Frick, W E., D. S. Francy, D. Rockwell, D. Schwab, D. Beletsky, AND R S. Lunetta. A VISION FOR A BEACH FORECASTING TOOL. Presented at 3rd International Conference on Marine Waste Water Discharges, Catania, Italy, September 27-October 2, 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 societal value of safe access to swimmable water is intuitive and in many countries it is a legal right. Threats to water quality reduce these recreational opportunities. The risk comes from exposure to waterborne pathogens from a myriad of sources, both human and animal. Different aspects of this public health issue are addressed in detail by public and private organizations. However, except for monitoring and general guidelines, the public has little access to scientific prognoses on the impending conditions of bathing waters. This paper describes work to combine the efforts of several organizations to produce software designed to assist public health officials and the public in general in assessing the likely short-term quality of the nation's local beaches.