Coastal Bathing Water Evaluation Under Contrasting Tourism Pressures at Herradura Bay (S-W Mediterranean)

Miguel María Granados-Fernández, Salvador Arijo, Andreas Reul (), Francisco Guerrero, Juan Diego Gilbert, Jorge García-Márquez, Begoña Bautista and María Muñoz
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Miguel María Granados-Fernández: Departamento de Ecología y Geología, Universidad de Málaga, Campus de Teatinos, s/n, 29071 Malaga, Spain
Salvador Arijo: Departamento de Microbiología, Universidad de Málaga, Campus de Teatinos, s/n, 29071 Malaga, Spain
Andreas Reul: Departamento de Ecología y Geología, Universidad de Málaga, Campus de Teatinos, s/n, 29071 Malaga, Spain
Francisco Guerrero: Departamento de Biología Animal, Biología Vegetal y Ecología, Universidad de Jaén, Campus de Las Lagnillas, s/n, 23071 Jaen, Spain
Juan Diego Gilbert: Departamento de Biología Animal, Biología Vegetal y Ecología, Universidad de Jaén, Campus de Las Lagnillas, s/n, 23071 Jaen, Spain
Jorge García-Márquez: Departamento de Microbiología, Universidad de Málaga, Campus de Teatinos, s/n, 29071 Malaga, Spain
Begoña Bautista: Departamento de Ecología y Geología, Universidad de Málaga, Campus de Teatinos, s/n, 29071 Malaga, Spain
María Muñoz: Departamento de Didáctica de la Matemática, de las Ciencias Sociales y de las Ciencias Experimentales, Universidad de Málaga, Campus de Teatinos, s/n, 29071 Malaga, Spain

Sustainability, 2025, vol. 17, issue 21, 1-14

Abstract: Coastal water quality is crucial for ecosystem services, supporting biodiversity and tourism. However, high tourist influxes often overwhelm wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) capacities, leading to untreated discharge and eutrophication, which severely impacts bathing water. Water quality monitoring is currently limited to selected points at the beach and oceanographic sampling, which requires depths >20 m offshore, leaving a gap of measurements between 1 and 50 m from the beach. To resolve this gap, our study proposes a low cost-effective sampling and monitoring method by using a kayak with a submersible fluorometer FlowCAM, as well as fecal bacteria detection and quantification. The kayak sampling was carried out during high- and low-tourism seasons in coastal bathing waters surrounded by Marine Protected Areas. The results show a patchy phytoplankton distribution, with chlorophyll a concentration up to 5.5 μg/L, indicating local fertilization. The observed floating organic matter patches were fecal bacteria free, while effluents of the WWTP to the Jate river and shore exceeded the legal limits for bathing water. These results suggest that wastewater treatment was overwhelmed during the high-tourism season, likely discharging wastewater into the river that flows into the shore. These findings are discussed in a sustainable development and socioeconomical context.

Keywords: bacterial contamination; eutrophication; dinoflagellates; indicator microorganisms; monitoring; phytoplankton; bioindicators; beaches; public health (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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