Significance of beach geomorphology on fecal indicator bacteria levels

Donahue, Allison; Feng, Zhixuan; Kelly, Elizabeth; Reniers, A.J.H.M.; Solo‐Gabriele, Helena M.

doi:10.1016/j.marpolbul.2017.05.024

Cited by 14 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 36 publications

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“…Analysis included the establishment of inclusion criteria, which resulted in 316 beaches for evaluation. Beach type was identified based upon the method of Donahue et al (2017). The data for each beach was converted to a percent exceedance value to track the fraction of times that the beaches exceeded regulatory guidelines.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The state of knowledge related to beach management practices and their influences on recreational water quality includes many major gaps. Studies such as Rippy et al (2013), Russell et al (2014), Wu et al (2016), Feng et al (2016), and Donahue et al (2017) have examined some of these issues, but focused on relationships between microbial water quality and physical, chemical, and biological factors. The influence of beach management practices and policies on water quality have not been comprehensively addressed.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Since beach management policies are in place for long periods of time, on the order of many years, this study used the entire period of record to define a beach’s overall average exceedance rate (percentage of time the beach FIB exceeds the regulatory thresholds). This study builds on the work of Feng et al (2016) and Donahue et al (2017), by examining the anthropogenic impact on beach water quality due to beach management practices. Earlier studies examined natural and man-made features.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Effect of beach management policies on recreational water quality

Kelly

Feng

Gidley

et al. 2018

Journal of Environmental Management

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When beach water monitoring programs identify poor water quality, the causes are frequently unknown. We hypothesize that management policies play an important role in the frequency of fecal indicator bacteria (FIB) exceedances (enterococci and fecal coliform) at recreational beaches. To test this hypothesis we implemented an innovative approach utilizing large amounts of monitoring data (n > 150,000 measurements per FIB) to determine associations between the frequency of contaminant exceedances and beach management practices. The large FIB database was augmented with results from a survey designed to assess management policies for 316 beaches throughout the state of Florida. The FIB and survey data were analyzed using t-tests, ANOVA, factor analysis, and linear regression. Results show that beach geomorphology (beach type) was highly associated with exceedance of regulatory standards. Low enterococci exceedances were associated with open coast beaches (n = 211) that have sparse human densities, no homeless populations, low densities of dogs and birds, bird management policies, low densities of seaweed, beach renourishment, charge access fees, employ lifeguards, without nearby marinas, and those that manage storm water. Factor analysis and a linear regression confirmed beach type as the predominant factor with secondary influences from grooming activities (including seaweed densities and beach renourishment) and beach access (including charging fees, employing lifeguards, and without nearby marinas). Our results were observable primarily because of the very large public FIB database available for analyses; similar approaches can be adopted at other beaches. The findings of this research have important policy implications because the selected beach management practices that were associated with low levels of FIB can be implemented in other parts of the US and around the world to improve recreational beach water quality.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Effect of beach management policies on recreational water quality

Kelly

Feng

Gidley

et al. 2018

Journal of Environmental Management

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“…Kelly et al (2018) reported that swimming site geomorphology was highly associated with exceedance of regulatory standards. Similarly, Paule-Marcado et al (2016) and Donahue et al (2017) reported that faecal indicator bacteria exceedances were associated with land use.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 87%

Seeing is Predicting: Water Clarity-Based Nowcast Models for E. coli Prediction in Surface Water

Dada¹

2019

GJHS

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Given the 24–48 h turn-around time of conventional surveillance approaches, methods are needed that improve the timeliness and accuracy of recreational water quality risk assessments. Although one useful approach is to combine existing monitoring programmes with predictive faecal indicator bacteria (FIB) models, these models are largely ‘top-down’ in their approach to safeguarding public health. Beyond being simply ‘advised when to avoid swimming’, there is an increasing awareness amongst the general public regarding the role they can play in water quality monitoring. Using quantile, maximum value and optimized incremental modelling approaches, this study reports on the possibility of developing intuitive, public-friendly models that are based on the physical appearance of water (clarity), to estimate 8103 nation-wide E. coli concentrations in rivers, and to assess whether water is safe to swim in. If swimmers were to avoid river waters with <1.1 m black disc visibility during autumn and summer, and river waters with values <0.5 m black disc visibility during spring and winter, they would also avoid microbial hazards that are associated with exceedances of the 540 CFU/100 mL single sample bathing water standard. Regardless of the climatic season, stream order classification, catchment land cover or geology of streams considered, the clarity-based E. coli models performed well as they presented with sensitivity, specificity and accuracy values of at least 72%. The developed models offer the benefit of providing a faster method for estimating E. coli concentration, potentially engaging the public in water monitoring, and allowing them to make informed decisions on whether it is safe to swim.

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“…Feng et al (2016) demonstrated that percent exceedances of local beach FIB water quality standards were negatively correlated with long-term mean wave energy at Florida beaches. Donahue et al (2017) found associations between different beach geomorphologies and FIB, e.g. Florida beaches in bays and marsh areas, which are generally characterized by low wave energies, had significantly more exceedances above regulatory thresholds compared to open coast beaches.…”

Section: Hangouts: Biofilms and Other Reservoirs Of Fecal Microorganismsmentioning

confidence: 94%

Impacts of a Changing Earth on Microbial Dynamics and Human Health Risks in the Continuum between Beach Water and Sand

Weiskerger

Brandão

Ahmed

et al. 2019

Preprint

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Humans may be exposed to microbial pathogens at recreational beaches via environmental sources, such as water, sand, and aerosols. Although infectious disease risk from exposure to waterborne pathogens has been an active area of research for decades, sand is a relatively unexplored reservoir of pathogens and fecal indicator bacteria (FIB). Beach sand and water habitats provide unique advantages and challenges to pathogen introduction, growth, and persistence, as well as continuous exchange between habitats. Models of FIB and pathogen fate and transport in sandy beach habitats can help predict the risk of infectious disease from recreational water use, but filling knowledge gaps such as decay rates and potential for microbial growth in beach habitats is necessary for accurate modeling. Climatic variability, whether natural or anthropogenically-induced, adds complexity to predictive modeling, but may increase human exposure to waterborne pathogens via extreme weather events, warming of water bodies and sea level rise in many regions. The popularity of human recreational beach activities, combined with predicted climate change scenarios, could amplify the risk of human exposure to pathogens and related illnesses. Other global change trends such as increased population growth and urbanization are expected to exacerbate contamination events and the predicted impacts of increasing levels of waterborne pathogens on human health. Such changes will alter microbial population dynamics in beach habitats, and will consequently affect the assumptions and relationships used in population models and quantitative microbial risk assessment (QMRA). Here, we discuss the literature on microbial population and transport dynamics in sand-water continuum habitats at beaches, how these dynamics can be modeled, and how climate change and other anthropogenic influences (e.g., land use, urbanization) should be considered when using and developing more holistic, beachshed-based models.

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Significance of beach geomorphology on fecal indicator bacteria levels

Cited by 14 publications

References 36 publications

Effect of beach management policies on recreational water quality

Effect of beach management policies on recreational water quality

Seeing is Predicting: Water Clarity-Based Nowcast Models for E. coli Prediction in Surface Water

Impacts of a Changing Earth on Microbial Dynamics and Human Health Risks in the Continuum between Beach Water and Sand

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