U.S. Recreational Water Quality Criteria: A Vision for the Future

Roger S. Fujioka, Helena M. Solo-Gabriele, Muruleedhara N. Byappanahalli and Marek Kirs
Additional contact information
Roger S. Fujioka: Water Resources Research Center, University of Hawaii, 2540 Dole Street, Holmes Hall Rm.283, Honolulu, HI 96822, USA
Helena M. Solo-Gabriele: Department of Civil, Arch., and Environmental Engineering, University of Miami, 1251 Memorial Drive, Coral Gables, FL 33146, USA
Muruleedhara N. Byappanahalli: Geological Survey, Great Lakes Science Center, Lake Michigan Ecological Research Station, 1100 N. Mineral Springs Road, Porter, IN 46304, USA
Marek Kirs: Water Resources Research Center, University of Hawaii, 2540 Dole Street, Holmes Hall Rm.283, Honolulu, HI 96822, USA

IJERPH, 2015, vol. 12, issue 7, 1-25

Abstract: This manuscript evaluates the U.S. Recreational Water Quality Criteria (RWQC) of 2012, based upon discussions during a conference held 11–13 March 2013, in Honolulu, Hawaii. The RWQC of 2012 did not meet expectations among the research community because key recommended studies were not completed, new data to assess risks to bathers exposed to non-point sources of fecal indicator bacteria (FIB) were not developed, and the 2012 RWQC did not show marked improvements in strategies for assessing health risks for bathers using all types of recreational waters. The development of the 2012 RWQC was limited in scope because the epidemiologic studies at beach sites were restricted to beaches with point sources of pollution and water samples were monitored for only enterococci. The vision for the future is development of effective RWQC guidelines based on epidemiologic and quantitative microbial risk assessment (QMRA) studies for sewage specific markers, as well as human enteric pathogens so that health risks for bathers at all recreational waters can be determined. The 2012 RWQC introduced a program for states and tribes to develop site-specific water quality criteria, and in theory this approach can be used to address the limitations associated with the measurements of the traditional FIB.

Keywords: recreational water quality criteria; recreational water quality standards; nonpoint source pollution; traditional fecal indicator bacteria; extra-enteric fecal indicator bacteria; alternate indicators; microbial source tracking (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2015
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (8)

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