THE STREAMER NEWSLETTER

Streamer: Summer 2000

On May 23, CRWA co-hosted an all-day workshop on "Understanding the Risk of Pathogens in Recreational Waters" with the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), MA Department of Environmental Protection, MA Department of Public Health, and MA Health Officers Association. Targeting public health and environmental officials responsible for managing or monitoring coastal or inland beaches, the workshop drew over 160 professionals from New England.

Participants learned the latest concerning sources of disease-causing pathogens in recreational waters, health risks associated with swimming in contaminated waters, bacterial indicators of fecal contamination, and monitoring recreational waters. Speakers included EPA Project Officer Matt Liebman, who moderated the workshop, and CRWA's Kathy Baskin who discussed water quality monitoring with an emphasis on public notification of results. The workshop was partly funded by EPA's EMPACT program.

The measurement of disease-causing pathogens is difficult, timely and expensive. Thus, regulators and public health officials have traditionally measured pathogen indicators, rather than the pathogens themselves, to determine the presence of sewage contamination in recreational waters. Levels of pathogen indicators, such as fecal coliform, indicate the likelihood that sewage-related pathogens are present in the waters.  

There was much debate regarding the use of fecal coliform bacteria as indicator organism. Health effects associated with exposure to waters high in fecal coliform are not as well correlated as health effects associated with other indicators. Both the EPA and the MA Department of Public Health are promoting the use of E. coli and/or Enterococci as indicator bacteria to protect public health in natural recreational waters.

Also, most microbial pathogens are more resistant to chlorination than are indicator organisms. Therefore, chlorinated wastewater from a combined sewage treatment facility may still contain harmful pathogens even though the indicators have been killed off. Others argue that changing the standards, using limited epidemiological studies, could actually decrease the percent of the time waters violate water quality standards and be less protective of public health.

The workshop coincided with a growing demand for "real-time" monitoring and daily flagging of beaches and boathouses along with a greater understanding by health officials on how to communicate risk to the public. The Environmental League of Massachusetts, MassPIRG and the Surfrider Foundation have sponsored the Beaches Bill, H. 3134 in the Massachusetts Legislature, to require uniform criteria and procedures for testing, monitoring, and posting of coastal and inland public beaches. Throughout the state, approximately 1.1 billion gallons of untreated or partially treated sewage is discharged annually following heavy rainfalls.

We hope that CRWA's color-coded water quality flags at Charles River boathouses and Metropolitan District Commission's flags at beaches in Boston Harbor will serve as successful models for the Beaches Bill!